
Units next to Mr. C in Beverly Hills get in on its four-star amenities.
The appeal of the turnkey home is hard to resist. Mr. C Residences in Beverly Hills is the latest project to bet big on the lure of the luxury-hotel-meets-home hybrid, with five town-house-style, fourstory attached units next to the Mr. C Hotel.
Included in the steep price are amenities and serious design cachet.
Developer Bob Ghassemieh of Atlantic Pearl Investments acquired the former Loews Hotel in 2006, renovated the structure in partnership with the Cipriani family and brand (originally of Harry’s Bar in Venice fame), and reopened the hotel in 2011.
He bought the adjacent property soon after the hotel purchase for the purpose of adding a fullservice luxury residential component. For this next phase, Ghassemieh enlisted iconic Los Angeles architect Ray Kappe, the founder of the Southern California Institute of Architecture and one of the region’s preeminent and longestworking modernists, and Italian interior designer and architect Marcello Pozzi.
“There really isn’t anything like it,” Ghassemieh said of Mr. C Residences. For now, at least: The Montage Beverly Hills contains dedicated floors for residents, as does the Ritz-Carlton downtown.
Hotel residential projects under top-tier hotel names such as the Edition and the Waldorf Astoria are currently in development.
The
degree of privacy and luxury (e.g., chauffeured luxury vehicles
included) incorporated into the Mr. C Residences, however, stands out.
“Cipriani is a global product,” he added. “It made a lot of sense to be
the first one on the West Coast, with L.A. being an international city.”
“My
primary goal was to have these special units complement the existing
hotel and provide the maximum number of units allowed with the parking
requirement,” said the Santa Monicabased Kappe, who at 92 years old is
an elder statesman of L.A. architecture.
Both
Kappe and Pozzi had already worked together on projects with
Ghassemieh. Kappe oversaw the extensive renovation of a 1957 house in
the Hollywood Hills originally of his own design that Ghassemieh
purchased; Ghassemieh subsequently hired the architect for a ground-up
construction project in
Beverly Hills that was completed this year. Pozzi was responsible for
interiors of that home, as well as the Mr. C Hotel overhaul.
Kappe
incorporated contemporary yet classic elements and materials such as
folding glazed panels, redwood ceilings, teak floors and limestone.
All
units contain a private elevator and a private parking garage with two
parking spaces. Pozzi’s interior details include furniture by Fritz
Hansen
and Gallotti & Radice, and Max Farina photographs that capture
scenes of the Cipriani family’s native Venice.
“You’re
close to the heart of Beverly Hills but tucked in the residential area
that’s very quiet,” Ghassemieh said of the location at Beverwil Drive
and Pico Boulevard, south of that city’s famed downtown.
Mr.
C Residences maintains a separate entrance from the hotel, and all
amenities are available to residents, from valet to cleaning to dining
services. It’s the kind of setup that appeals to a citizen of the world,
with very deep pockets to match.
Units are from 1,990 to 3,358 square feet, and prices are $4 million to $8 million.
Ghassemieh
noted that the hotel will retain one or two of the residences for
30-day-minimum stays, and Mr. C Residences owners have the option of
turning units over to the hotel, subject to a revenue-sharing agreement.
hotproperty@latimes.com