Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On or around May 23, 2019, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) entered into an $80 million USD loan agreement with Full Star Properties, LLC — a California-headquartered, Delaware-incorporated property development company which is wholly-owned by the U.S.-incorporated Z&L Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of R&F Properties Co. Ltd., a real estate holdings and development company based in Guangzhou, China — for the 1133 S. Hope Street Development Project. The proceeds of the $80 million construction loan were too be used for the construction and development of a one block, 28-story mixed-use tower condominium tower, located at 1133 S. Hope Street in Downtown LA. The property features 5,000 square feet for retail spaces and 200 condos. Z&L purchased the property in 2013 from Amcon, a Canadian development firm. Construction on the site had already begun in 2017, long before the ICBC loan, and was completed around February 2020. On December 28, 2023, Federal Insurance Company filed a lawsuit against the defendants Z&L Holdings, LLC, Full Star Properties LLC, Hope 048 Holdings, LLC and 1133 South Hope Owner LLC. The sole owner of Z&L Holdings and its parent company Z&L Properties, Zhang Li, a Chinese businessman from Guangzhou of Guangdong province in southern China, was arrested and charged with bribing convicted felon in the United States. Z&L Properties, a Full Star Properties' parent compay, was fined $1 million USD as a result of Li's plea deal.