The London-based owners of the former Robinsons-May department store property on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills said they wanted to reduce the number of condominiums in their planned $1-billion residential and retail development, replacing them with hotel rooms.

Developer Nicholas Candy’s 8-acre property at 9900 Wilshire Blvd. has already been approved for 252 condos to be designed by prominent architect Richard Meier. Plans call for two 12-story buildings, a two-story building containing town houses, and two four-story loft buildings situated around landscaped gardens. There also would be a one-story building along Santa Monica Boulevard for a restaurant and a few shops.

Candy said he and his brother, Christian, would ask the city for permission to build 200 to 250 hotel rooms and 100 to 125 condos without changing the look or size of the overall development.

In reworking the project, the Candy brothers are trying to improve their chances of getting construction financing in a tight credit market.

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