THE CRESCENT: It’s valet all the way

“ThIs is all about livable cities with the focus on the street, actually the sidewalk,” says Johannes Van Tilburg, above, of Santa Monica-based Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh, whose new complex is the first apartment building constructed in Beverly Hills in 25 years.

In 2001, the architect looked at a parking lot with a chain-link fence and a worn commercial building on Crescent Drive. Van Tilburg knew he could upgrade this area near the famous Rodeo Drive with a new type of luxury housing.

“Small lawns in front of live-work town houses and garden apartments on top is a very European and urban lifestyle,” says Van Tilburg, who worked with Los Angeles developer J.H. Snyder Co.

Residents and their guests can enter the property through the motor court, hand their keys to the valet, pass the concierge in the atrium lobby and enter into one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, which rent for $4,000 to $7,000.

The 12 two-story town houses that front the street have the silhouettes of traditional brownstones but with a California contemporary twist. They have bay windows, Juliet balconies, stoop entries, awnings and private gardens.

Exterior walls have alternating sand-colored plaster and red-brick veneer to create the look of a streetscape that has evolved over time.

The town houses hide parking from street view, and there’s also subterranean spaces.

Overlooking a landscaped courtyard at the 1.7-acre site is a building that houses 76 apartments. Amenities in the 815- to 1,810-square-foot spaces include stone-finished showers, stainless steel appliances and walnut-stained cabinets.

Future project: Granite Park in Pasadena with 71 live-work town homes and flats sited around courtyards and an auto court.

-- J.E.