Shanghai’s Greenland Group Buys US$1 Bil Metropolis Project in LA

Shanghai Greenland Group, one of China’s largest real estate developers, announced on Friday that it is investing US$1 billion in a project in downtown Los Angeles, joining a growing trend of Chinese investors acquiring high profile properties in the US.

According to a statement from Greenland, it has signed an agreement to purchase the 25,600 square metre Metropolis project from the California State Teachers Retirement System (CALSTRS) and it expects to begin construction this year.

In a published report, Michael Sicilia, a Calstrs spokesman, said the transaction took place last week and declined to comment on the consideration paid. Christy Ingle, a spokeswoman for CBRE Group Inc, the broker for the transaction, declined to comment on the sale. However, Greenland indicated that it plans to invest US$1 billion in the project.

The Metropolis project is expected to include hotels, offices, apartments and luxury homes. Greenland called the acquisition the biggest deal of its kind by a Chinese developer in the U.S., however, there is considerable competition for that crown.

Already this year, the family of Zhang Xin, CEO of SOHO China, purchased a stake in the US$3.4 billion dollar GM building in New York, and Dalian Wanda group announced plans for a US$1 billion hotel in Manhattan. In February, China’s largest developer, Vanke announced that it was undertaking a US$620 million project in San Francisco with US real estate firm Tishman Speyer.

Greenland Group, which was reported to have the second highest sales of any Chinese developer for the first half of 2013, has taken on a number of high profile projects in recent years.

Earlier in 2013, the developer purchased a project in Australia for US$498 million, and it is currently building a 636 metre, 125-storey skyscraper in Wuhan which will be one of China’s tallest buildings when complete. In December last year, the conglomerate announced a joint venture with Spain’s Melia to launch a new hotel chain, and in May it acquired Hong Kong-listed developer SPG Land Holdings for US$389 million.