Last year, the Dalian Wanda Group announced its intention to add a five-star hotel to a proposed $1-billion condominium complex in Beverly Hills.  In preparation for an early 2017 groundbreaking, the Chinese conglomerate and its partner the Athens Group have set up an official website for the development.

The project, which was purchased by Wanda in 2014 for $420 million, would rise from an eight-acre site at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard.  The property, previously the home of a Robinsons-May department store, is sandwiched between the Beverly Hilton hotel and the Los Angeles Country Club.

The proposed development, dubbed One Beverly Hills, would consist of two mid-rise towers featuring 193 luxury condominiums, 134 hotel rooms and a variety of food-and-beverage venues.  Other elements of the project would include a 1,140-car garage, green space, roof terraces, meeting rooms and event space.

The 13- and 15-story towers, designed by Richard Meier & Partners Architects, would be raised above columns to create an open ground floor with natural lighting and gardens flowing underneath.  Despite their height, the buildings would have a strong horizontal orientation, and would be clad with high-quality materials including floor-to-ceiling windows.

Plans call for nearly .75-acres of public gardens, designed by the landscape architecture firm OLIN.  The linear green space, intended for the east side of the property, is expected to complement the restored Beverly Gardens Park which flanks Santa Monica Boulevard.

According to its website, construction of One Beverly Hills is anticipated to occur over approximately 30 months, placing its completion date near 2020.

The project is one of a number of large-scale developments underway along the Century City - Beverly Hills border, including a 40-story luxury apartment tower, the $800-million expansion of the Westfield Century City and a Waldorf Astoria hotel.