Beverly Hills hotel to have $12,000 minimum extended stay

Work is underway on an extended-stay hotel in the heart of Beverly Hills where guests must agree to pay a minimum of $12,000 to settle in.

The property now known as AKA Beverly Hills at 155 N. Crescent Drive is undergoing $10 million worth of renovations to prepare for an Oct. 1 opening. It’s intended to serve travelers who will be in town for more than a few days but not long enough justify leasing an apartment.

“Three or four months is the sweet spot,” said Larry Korman, co-president of developer Korman Communities. Prices will start at $400 a night with a minimum one-month stay.

The Pennsylvania developer bought the property for $85 million in January. Completed in 2006, it was intended to be an 88-unit apartment complex that included 12 two-story town houses. Later plans called for the units to be condominiums, but the housing crash brought an end to that notion, and Korman bought the complex after the lender foreclosed.

Korman is upgrading the lobby and adding a lounge, café, fitness center and outdoor space for residents’ use.

There are AKA extended-stay hotels in New York, Philadelphia and Washington catering to affluent international leisure and business travelers and upscale consumers, Korman said.

Over the next three to five years, Korman Communities plans to add eight to 12 properties to the AKA portfolio in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and London, Korman said. The company, based near Philadelphia, plans to spend as much as $300 million in each market.

Korman’s financial partners in Beverly Hills are BlackRock Realty Advisors and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.

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