Beverly Hills Voters Reject Measure HH’s Tall Condo Tower

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Voters struck a blow to hotelier Beny Alagem’s proposal to build the tallest building in Beverly Hills.

The Hilton Condominium Tower Initiative, or Measure HH, failed to pass Tuesday with only 44 percent of the vote in Beverly Hills. The plan would have called for a 26-story condo tower to replace two smaller buildings Alagem proposed several years ago. It also would have provided for a 1.7-acre public park.

Alagem, who owns the Beverly Hilton and is building a Waldorf Astoria hotel next door, drew heated controversy in his multi-million dollar campaign to adjust his plans via public vote rather than a lengthy city review.

Beverly Hills Mayor John Mirisch spoke out against the super-sized tower’s attempts to bypass traditional city planning, writing in a Huffington Post op-ed that “Hilton is exploiting the initiative process to scrupulously avoid all municipal scrutiny.”

But the project’s fiercest opponent was Dalian Wanda Group Ltd., building a rival condo-hotel project down the street, along with local homeowners who have long sought to limit density.

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