Beverly Hills’ L’Ermitage Hotel Is Sold to N.Y. Investor Group

The posh L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills, a favorite resting spot for celebrities and wealthy business people, has been sold to a New York-based investment partnership for an estimated $12 million.

The investment group, La Hotel Properties Inc., purchased the property from Mission Viejo-based Independence One Bank of California.

The deal closed at the end of December, bank President Edward H. Sondker said.

The 112-unit, all-suite hotel has been the focus of several lawsuits since 1986, when the partnership that used to own it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an attempt to fend off foreclosure by Beverly Hills Savings & Loan.

The partnership was headed by Severyn Ashkenazy, a high-profile real estate investor whose Westside hotel empire was showing signs of financial stress after years of rapid expansion.

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The foreclosure was eventually approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court. Independence One took control of the property last year as part of its agreement with the federal government to manage the assets of Beverly Hills Savings, which failed.

Officials at La Hotel Properties couldn’t be reached.

L’Ermitage spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said the new investors are expected to make extensive improvements to the hotel, including remodeling some guest rooms and constructing a small business center and health club on the site.