- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
Beverly Hot Springs, the popular Korean day spa that counts plenty of stars among its clientele, has had a roller-coaster few months recently.
The spa — which opened in 1984 and features a 100-year-old natural hot spring, today the only one in Los Angeles — was set to be purchased by developer Manhattan West over the summer, with plans to cap the spring and build 101 apartment units on the lot. Amid backlash from the community, which included a Change.org petition and neighborhood chatter on Nextdoor, the buyer pulled out; the spa is now back on the market, listed at $10.5 million as its longtime owners seek to retire.
Related Stories
With its future in limbo, a group of regulars has formed the Save Beverly Hot Springs Alliance and has started the process of seeking historic designation. “That way it’ll always be protected,” says alliance head Teresa Burkett Bougoise, who opens up about what the spa has meant to her and many of its clients over the past decades: “There have been many situations in my life [of] feeling worse about myself — classrooms, meetings, Zumba, even marriage — but never once did I leave the springs feeling anything less than loved and nurtured.”
She notes that even if the future buyer decides to retain the spring, there is concern that a developer could privatize it and drastically increases prices, and “that would sadden me to no end, just to see it eliminated for a lot of people price-wise [because] right now it’s very reasonably priced.”
“I think a part of it is that we just have to get the word out what’s going on here,” she adds. “It’s not unlike the other situations we see around L.A. where these landmark places are falling by the wayside through overdevelopment. It’s tragic.”
A version of this story first appeared in the Nov. 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day