BEVERLY HILLS : Plan for 99-Year Lease to Bloomingdale’s Assailed

In the first hearing involving plans to bring New York retailer Bloomingdale’s to Beverly Hills, a handful of residents Tuesday condemned a proposed 99-year lease of city-owned land for the huge, upscale department store.

During a two-hour hearing before the Beverly Hills City Council, speakers denounced the city’s lease offer as a giveaway of public land. They also questioned Bloomingdale’s fiscal solvency, noting that its recent history has been financially troubled.

The meeting was the first time that citizens aired their opposition to the proposed 240,000-square-foot store, which would be built on Beverly Drive just north of Wilshire Boulevard.

In February, the council announced a tentative deal in which Bloomingdale’s would build the store on city-owned land and the city would develop its own retail space on the north and south sides of the store. The deal, city officials said, could earn Beverly Hills $3 million to $5 million in annual sales tax revenue and rent.

When the council first unveiled the Bloomingdale’s project, the only naysayers were a few members of the arts community angry that the Canon Theatre would be demolished to make way for the development. The 382-seat theater is on land now owned by Bloomingdale’s parent company, Federated Department Stores.

On Tuesday, speakers objected to Bloomingdale’s plans during a meeting called by the council to discuss the city’s sponsorship of state legislation that would clarify existing law governing long-term leases.

Despite the opposition, the council voted unanimously to sponsor the bill.