At the crossing of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards, a luxury hotel tower is now taking shape.

The 12-story Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, which is developed by Alagem Capital Group, is rising next-door to the iconic Beverly Hilton Hotel.  Budgeted at $200 million, the project will consist of 170 guest rooms and suites, high-end stores, restaurants and ancillary functions.

Renderings of the project, which is being designed by a team lead by Gensler and Pierre-Yves Rochon, portray a mid-rise structure in the Streamline Moderne style.

Completion if the Waldorf Astoria is expected in 2017.

The five-star hotel is the first phase of a larger development approved by Beverly Hills voters in 2008, which will later include a luxury condominium complex.  Alagem Capital Group is currently pursuing a follow-up ballot initiative which would consolidate two proposed buildings into a taller 24-story structure.  The remainder of the property would be preserved as green space.