The Four Seasons is building its first standalone condominium complex The Four Seasons Private Residences in Beverly Hills. While completion of the project is two years out, the developer has already sold a number of pre-plan units for a total of $140 million to international buyers. In a see of luxury-branded developments, we wondered how the Four Seasons competes as a luxury brand in the market—able to attract strong demand in the presale phase. The answer: they define luxury. At least, that is Jonathan Genton, a founding partner at GPG, the developer behind the project, says.

“We don't really use the term luxury. Other people have to tell you that they are luxury, but the brand Four Seasons is luxury,” Genton tells GlobeSt.com. “It is the best of class product. There is a lot of luxury class product coming to market, but there are very few branded projects that tell you what that is going to be. When we sell product, people rarely ask us about the level of services because we just simply say that it is Four Seasons. We are luxury, but we don't need to explain that to our buyers.” As a result, luxury isn't in the name of the property or in the branding.

The project has already broken ground, and is aiming to capture both iconic L.A. architecture and a contemporary design in a single asset. “The vision is to translate a quintessential Los Angeles lifestyle into a modern building,” adds Genton. “We look to create a high-rise, or high-rise by L.A. standards, in a mid-century design. So, the vision was to create a Hollywood Hills 1960s Richard Neutra house in a very desirable submarket in Los Angeles, which is the street that we are on. The obstacles to develop in Beverly Hills are high, and this is the first stand-alone Four Seasons Residences.”

With only a rendering and the name Four Seasons, the property is already popular with international buyers. The curated marketing plan targeted buyers in the Middle East, China and Europe, rather than local buyers. “Our buyers are looking to live in a global gateway city, and this has to be a buyer that is comfortable buying off plan, because this is three years from completion,” explains Genton. “This is really about buyer comfort and buyer attitude. We buy it prelaunch and off plan marketing, so it is a very different marketing strategy. We have had reservations for the last 15 months. Local buyers typically want a model and a office.”

Because it is early in the construction process, full customization is possible for each of the units. “This is a very customized approach to living,” Genton says. “We have some buyers requesting to stack units and others that are combining units.”

Instant Insights /

The First Four Seasons First Standalone Build

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