Alagem Capital, Cain International JV developing One Beverly Hills

Alagem Capital Group, in partnership with Cain International, are developing One Beverly Hills, a mixed-use, urban resort in the heart of Beverly Hills. The 17.5-acre site is currently one of the largest and most environmentally advanced private real estate development projects underway in the U.S.

The site represents the unification of several properties adjacent to the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. One Beverly Hills will add three environmentally sustainable buildings to the site: two residential condominium towers and a third building housing a 42-suite luxury hotel and 37 shared-ownership condominiums. All of this is set around eight acres of botanical gardens that will be planted at the heart of the site. The Beverly Hilton will see extensive upgrades to bring the green of the gardens into the hotel experience. The new buildings and gardens of One Beverly Hills are designed to exceed California’s own ambitious sustainability goals, the companies report. One Beverly Hills is expected to open in 2026.

“We are proud to be partnering with Cain International; our shared commitment to building a beautiful and environmentally responsible project will resonate for generations,” said Beny Alagem, CEO, Alagem Capital Group. “By combining elegant architecture with the most advanced technologies, we are defining development in a post-COVID world. One Beverly Hills is designed to reflect our Southern California lifestyle with deep, wide balconies and spacious, sunlight-filled rooms. The green of the gardens extends up the buildings’ facades, framing unobstructed views from the mountains to the Pacific. This project could only be built in Beverly Hills. It is a city I have a deep connection with and am committed to investing in. One Beverly Hills will change the way sustainability and healthy living is approached and sets the standard for future development.”

Jonathan Goldstein, Cain International’s CEO, said, “One Beverly Hills perfectly reflects our mission to create forward-thinking spaces that seamlessly bridge commercial space, residential life, and community. Cain has made strategic investments across the U.S. in some of the most notable and iconic ground-up developments, and we are excited to deliver a landmark project together with the Alagem Capital Group that will represent a new architectural gateway to the iconic city of Beverly Hills. The scale, visually stunning architecture, public realm and environmentally conscious design initiatives established throughout One Beverly Hills will set a new standard and will shape the future of development for decades to come.”

Foster + Partners is leading the One Beverly Hills master plan with Los Angeles-based multi-disciplinary design firm RIOS overseeing landscape architecture, while Gensler will serve as executive architect on the project. One Beverly Hills will integrate the existing Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills into a unified 17.5-acre site. The Beverly Hilton will receive significant reinvestment to reflect the design of One Beverly Hills, with a new arrival drive and lobby area, ballroom upgrades, restyled pool and 36 new poolside cabana rooms. A new 38,000-sq.-ft. conference center will be enhanced with unique breakout areas. The building housing the hotel and condominiums will span 10 stories and include a fine dining restaurant.

One Beverly Hills will include a private members club open to residents and a select number of non-residents. Members will have access to 130,000 sq. ft. of calming space over three levels, divided into retreat, clubhouse and fitness areas. A wellness-focused spa will be the central hub of the retreat, with the clubhouse home to various entertainment opportunities including a private restaurant; lounge; wine tasting room and cellar; screening rooms; and a bowling alley. The fitness area will include private training rooms, open cardio spaces, an indoor lap pool, indoor basketball and pickleball courts, as well as an outdoor fitness facility.

As the heart of One Beverly Hills will be the Botanical Gardens. Foster + Partners have devised an elevated platform to be built from the western side of the property across to the Beverly Hilton to create the gardens. The eight-acre space will be home to more than 40 tree and 250 plant species from 13 different botanical regions of California and feature curated sculptures, water features, shaded seating areas, two miles of pathways and other amenities. The entire garden will be irrigated through an extensive greywater system. A community-based conservancy made up of One Beverly Hills residents; school and community leaders; and representatives of the hotels will oversee educational programming and operations.

Norman Foster, founder/executive chairman, Foster + Partners, said, “In its beginnings, Beverly Hills was agricultural flat land—a green oasis that fed a growing urbanity. A century later, we have seized on this inspiration to create an organic architecture that merges with landscape, a large part of which is publicly accessible, creating a shared resource for the city. The richness of Californian culture owes much to its diversity of influences, which comes together with the urgent need for sustainability—particularly conservation and recycling of water for the greenery. We welcome the opportunity to create a holistic masterplan based on a green approach across the entire site.”

Mark Rios, founder, RIOS, said, “One Beverly Hills is a remarkable and revolutionary project, for not only Los Angeles, but also the entire West Coast. To create inspiration and sustainability within the open spaces of the site, we looked to establish curated botanical collections influenced by the native landscape of California, which has a wealth of natural beauty for us to draw from. These diverse botanical experiences utilize sustainable systems, such as a combination of reclaimed and storm run-off generated water, to ensure the One Beverly Hills Botanical Gardens will be a horticulturally-rich terrain and lush escape and serve as a nexus of wellbeing for the local ecology, residents and visitors alike.”

One Beverly Hills is invested in a sustainable future and committed to being the benchmark for environmental sustainability, bringing together multiple technologies to lower emissions and energy consumption. Glumac, a global sustainable building design and engineering firm, is coordinating the systems that aim to achieve LEED Platinum and WELL certifications. The buildings of One Beverly Hills will use a central geothermal system, harnessing the earth’s constant soil temperature to create heat and hot water and reject heat for cooling without the use of gas. The system also reduces the number of cooling towers needed, saving millions of gallons of water annually.

Using collected rainwater and recycled greywater, the One Beverly Hills landscape will be 100% water sustainable. These steps will save millions of gallons of water a year. In an effort to support grid harmonization and safeguard local energy infrastructure, the project is designed with a significant centralized battery storage system, on-site photovoltaic array and a chilled water thermal energy storage system. This will allow the project to be flexible in managing electrical demand by minimizing imported electricity in real time intervals when grid generation is composed of dirtier fuel sources. It will also be responsive to local & utility-level demand response events. The new 1.375 million-sq.-ft. of buildings will be built from recycled, low embodied carbon and low toxicity materials.

“Together with Beny Alagem, his team and partners at Cain International, we are steadfast in achieving our Triple Bottom Line sustainability goals balancing social, environmental and economic objectives to reach two globally recognized standards: LEED Platinum and WELL Certifications,” said Nicole Isle, chief sustainability strategist, Glumac. “Our mission is to establish One Beverly Hills as one of most environmentally conscious real estate development examples on the world stage, with healthy and intelligent buildings and open spaces.”