After less than a year in Los Angeles, I-Fei Chang has already established a reputation for the incredible scale and speed of her work: As chief executive of Greenland USA, the U.S. arm of Shanghai-based developer Greenland Group, she’s overseeing the development of Metropolis, a $1 billion mixed-use project in downtown Los Angeles that’s expected to take five years to complete.
In January, her company purchased a 6.3-acre parking lot flanking the 110 freeway that, despite much effort, sat undeveloped for decades. It was Greenland’s investment in the site that finally got shovels in the ground. The project’s first phase, a 38-story condominium building and a 19-story hotel, broke ground in February. Chang plans to break ground on two more condominium towers, one 54 stories tall and the other 40 stories, this fall.
Chang got her first taste of such large-scale projects as an architect. Shortly after getting a master’s degree from Yale in 1989, she went to work for a firm in Tokyo that focused on large, design-driven projects such as museums. But as much as she enjoyed the creative side of real estate, she said the business side drew her in.
“I had a lot to offer in terms of the analytical and business skills necessary to bring a project to fruition,” she said. “That realization, combined with my boundless ambition, set me on the path to work on large-scale projects internationally.”
Chang said Greenland Group, founded in 1992, began investing in U.S. real estate last year because the timing felt right for the maturing company.
“Like any 22-year-old, it was ready to leave its nest,” she said. “The U.S. is one of the largest global economies and we see a lot of potential in this market.”
Indeed, in addition to the company’s $1 billion commitment to downtown Los Angeles, it has committed almost five times as much for a project in Brooklyn. Both projects, Chang said, fit the company’s investment criteria: large, urban campuslike projects with easy access to transportation.
“When we look for projects, what we’re really looking at is the community – what communities do we think will really thrive with our investment and participation?” she said. “Downtown L.A. is a great example because it’s under transformation, urban living is on the rise, its culturally vibrant and the residential market is undersupplied.”
– Bethany Firnhaber
DEVELOPER
I-Fei Chang
Title: Chief Executive
Company: Greenland USA
Location: Downtown Los Angeles | Age: 49
