The Beverly Hilton is pushing forward with a plan to develop hotel-condo units.
Oasis West Realty LLC, the hotel’s owner, has brought on New York-based Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, LLC to design the units. A preliminary design is expected to be finished as early as next month.
The move comes just as the 570-room hotel is finishing an $80 million makeover. “We are turning our attention to the future of the property,” said Marie Garvey, a spokeswoman for the hotel.
Gwathmey Siegel & Associates has worked on several projects in the L.A. region, including Pitzer College academic structures, the David Geffen Foundation building and residences in Bel Air, Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
Garvey said the hotel is still evaluating the budget for the hotel-condo additions, as well as the number and the configuration of any new units. One possibility: a tower that has a mix of condos and traditional hotel rooms.
Before the plan advances, the hotel must gain approval from the city of Beverly Hills. Garvey said the hotel has sent letters about the project to the community.
Hotel-condos offer all the amenities of hotel rooms, such as housekeeping and concierge services, and the owners can make the units available to hotel patrons when they are away.
Chicago-based Falor Cos. had planned to take over the downtown Hilton Checkers hotel and convert units to hotel-condos. However, a deal with current owner Newport Beach-based Tarsadia Hotels to buy the hotel fell through.
Working Capital
Sage Capital Partners LP sees growth in work clothes, and has put its money toward expanding occupational retailer Work Wear Depot.
The Los Angeles-based private equity firm picked up the work wear store as part of a deal to acquire a stake of more than 60 percent in western apparel specialist Corral West Ranchwear Inc., based in Cheyenne, Wyo.
There is only one Work Wear store, which opened in Milwaukee two months ago, with three additional stores expected to be added in the next year.
“There is a real opportunity here to build a leadership position,” said Daniel Gardenswartz, managing director of Sage Capital. He wouldn’t disclose the purchase price.
Gardenswartz estimated the work wear market at $10 billion, with key manufacturers including VF Corp.-owned Wrangler, Carhartt Inc. and Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. Among the leading retailers are Work ‘N Gear, a division of Casual Male Corp., J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Meanwhile, there are 96 Corral West stores in the western United States, largely in cities with under 300,000 people.
Dining Dollars
California’s restaurant sales are expected to increase 6.2 percent next year, outpacing national growth, according to a new report by the National Restaurant Association.
Nationwide, restaurant sales are projected to jump 5.1 percent, to $511 billion in 2006. In California, sales at about 90,000 restaurants are forecast to hit $51.49 billion next year.
In 2006, the association estimates that California will have more restaurant workers than any other state, at nearly 1.4 million. Restaurants employees make up just under 10 percent of the state’s workforce.
College Chinese
Rosemead-based Panda Restaurant Group Inc. is beefing up its presence on university campuses. It will add 10 Panda Express units on campuses next year, bringing the total number of college eateries to 20.
Among the universities getting Panda Express are the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, University of Connecticut at Storrs and Central Florida University in Orlando. Restaurants were recently opened at Kansas State University at Manhattan, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and University of Oregon at Eugene.
*Staff reporter Rachel Brown can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 224, or by e-mail at
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