The City of Beverly Hills, through the Friends of Beverly Gardens Park, has received a $200,000 donation from Wanda Beverly Hills Properties, LLC and the Wanda Group’s Chairman, Wang Jianlin, to help restore the City’s century-old park. The Wanda Group (Wanda) is China’s largest real estate development firm and the world’s largest movie theatre chain. ( Image by LoveBeverlyHills.org)
A ceremony to announce and celebrate the gift will be held at 4:30 p.m., March 27 at the Beverly Gardens Park Lily Pond, between Beverly and Rodeo Drives. Incoming Mayor Julian Gold and Chairman Wang will attend.
This lead gift marks the beginning of Wanda’s relationship with the City of Beverly Hills. The donation will be used to restore the portion of the park adjacent to Wanda’s property located at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard. Together, Wanda’s eight-acre property and Beverly Gardens Park, form the City’s western gateway – welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors to Beverly Hills annually.
Beverly Gardens Park runs the full length of Beverly Hills and spans 23 civic blocks. The park holds a rich history in the city, one of the first major construction projects in Beverly Hills. Now 100 years old, it requires significant restoration to meet current and future use and standards.
The Friends of Beverly Gardens Park are leading a community effort to bring the park into the 21st Century, utilizing current trends in park design. It began by bringing back a long-lost favorite and main feature of the park – the lily pond in front of the Beverly Hills monument sign between Beverly and Canon drives. Each of the 23 park blocks will undergo a renovation, weighing many factors such as the age and safety of the trees, and the functionality and aesthetics of important park elements.
Other major contributors to the effort include Hershenson Investments, Steven Gordon Family Foundation, Kennedy Wilson, Lili and Jon Bosse, Larry Field, Robert Zarnegin, Geoff Palmer and Cartier.