Plans for Beverly Hills’ Tallest-Ever Project Must Be Processed, Judge Says
City must consider the ‘builder’s remedy’ high-rise near Wilshire Boulevard, the judge ruled
By Greg Cornfield August 15, 2025 3:45 pm
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Leo Pustilnikov’s plan to build a 19-story apartment and hotel building, which would be the tallest development in Beverly Hills, is still alive.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that the City of Beverly Hills must proceed with the entitlement process for the high-rise proposal at 125-129 South Linden Drive, just south of Wilshire Boulevard, Urbanize reported. The proposal calls for 165 apartments, 33 of which would be designated as affordable for lower-income residents, and a 73-room hotel.
Similar to Pustilnikov’s other proposals over the past few years, the Linden Drive development utilizes the “builder’s remedy” provision in California law, which allows developers of projects that include affordable housing to bypass local discretion if the city is not in compliance with state housing production requirements.
Pustilnikov filed the plans in 2023 when Beverly Hills had yet to get its housing plans certified by the state. But the City Council still effectively rejected the proposal last summer, arguing that the proposal was incomplete and that adding the hotel component after the project was initially submitted voids the utilization of state incentives.
The developer has filed plans for several other projects using builder’s remedy that target other enclaves — like Santa Monica and Redondo Beach — that rarely meet housing production mandates.
Pustilnikov could not be reached for comment.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
