Chic Street Is Taking Off the Grunge

Luckily for Rodeo Drive, face-lifts are readily available in Beverly Hills, even for streets.

On Monday, work began on a long-planned overhaul of the opulent thoroughfare, which by Beverly Hills standards, at least, has become a bit shabby.

It's not quite a case of urban renewal -- we're not patching potholes here -- but, in Beverly Hills, gum on the sidewalk is a call to action.

"I see distress," said Fred Hayman, the semi-retired retailer to the stars who taught the world how to say Ro-DAY-oh. "It's a street in need of rehabilitation."

Despite wilting summer heat, Hayman, 77, whose Giorgio boutique helped put Rodeo Drive on the global shopping map, looked impeccable, right down to the Italian-crafted brass and enamel FH buttons on his navy blazer.

Not so Rodeo Drive.

As Hayman strolled the famed boulevard one recent sunny morning, the walkways were spattered with the telltale dark smudges of discarded gum. Black paint on the trash cans had flecked off, uncovering bare metal. Inexplicably, a strip of gray duct tape had been left across a sidewalk, its peeling edges ready to trip up the next unsuspecting wearer of Manolo Blahnik stiletto mules.

It is, in short, a street that wants some nips and tucks, just like some of its well-heeled clientele.

By Thanksgiving, if all goes as planned, the 300 and 400 blocks of Rodeo will have wider sidewalks and medians; new palm trees; hip, new streetlights; and mid-block crosswalks.

The work is part of an $18-million revamping of five streets that form the heart of the city's "business triangle." Phase I of the project will tackle parts of Rodeo and Beverly drives. Phase II will brighten up Brighton Way, Dayton Way and Canon Drive and finish the business portions of Rodeo and Beverly.

Most of the streets will be adorned with a mixture of palms and flowering trees, replacing the all-too-ordinary ficus trees.

This will be the first significant development on Rodeo in more than a decade. Rodeo watchers say it has been long in coming.

"It's long overdue," said Chuck Dembo, a commercial real estate broker on the street. "It will make Rodeo look more like a European walking street, which is what it should be."

Much of the impetus for the revamping came from the Rodeo Drive Committee, which Hayman pioneered 31 years ago with other legendary merchants, including Jerry Magnin (who owned the Polo Ralph Lauren franchise on Rodeo for many years), Herb Fink (of Theodore boutique fame) and David Orgell (the purveyor of silver, china and other luxury items).