Who’s Who in Real Estate: Bill Nan Zhou, Feng Feng

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When a delegation of real estate professionals from China came to the United States a little over a year ago to tour major gateway cities for investment opportunities, longtime Southern California business buddies Bill Nan Zhou and Feng Feng helped pave the way. Together, the duo helped show members of the China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce, an influential trade group based in Beijing, around Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

While planning the tour, Zhou, a business and finance expert, and Feng, an architect, realized they had a unique opportunity on their hands: They could share their experience and expertise in the U.S. real estate market with their former countrymen. So in May 2013, they co-founded the U.S.-China Real Estate Investment Center.

Its first fund, Elite International Investment Fund, invests primarily on behalf of corporate members of the real estate chamber, navigating the U.S. commercial market, seeking opportunities and facilitating investment.

“Commercial real estate investments from China have been gaining momentum in recent years,” Zhou said. “Members of CRECC, most of whom are leading developers or builders in China, have long been interested in investing in the United States.”

The center made its first U.S. investment in January when it partnered with the multifamily subsidiary of Miami homebuilder Lennar Corp. to acquire a one-acre parking lot in downtown Los Angeles for $20 million. There, at the southwest corner of Olympic Boulevard and Olive Street, Lennar has begun construction of a 201-unit multifamily building with about 4,000 square feet of retail. The seven-story building, which will feature 64 studios, and 109 one-bedroom and 28 two-bedroom units, is expected to be completed by late 2016.

The same joint venture is looking to develop other similar projects, though not necessarily in California.

Zhou and Feng said their investors like Los Angeles because compared to other major gateway cities it has a lot of opportunity for growth. It helps, too, that the sun-soaked region is one of the most desirable places to live in the United States for Chinese emigrants.

“Chinese investors prefer gateway cities that are familiar to them, and Los Angeles is definitely among the top three, along with New York and San Francisco,” Feng said. “But compared to higher barriers to entry in the other two cities, Los Angeles, especially downtown, is one of the few places where new developments are still welcome.”

Still, despite their investors’ preference for the L.A. real estate market, Feng and Zhou said it’s not easy to find investment opportunities with the kind of value their clients can get behind. They said the high cost of land and construction here makes value-oriented projects difficult to realize.

“The vast majority of new multifamily products are high end and affordability has become a major issue,” they said.

– Bethany Firnhaber

INVESTOR

Bill Nan Zhou

Title: Managing Partner

Company: U.S.-China Real Estate Investment Center

Location: Downtown Los Angeles | Age: 46

INVESTOR

Feng Feng

Title: Managing Partner

Company: U.S.-China Real Estate Investment Center

Location: Downtown Los Angeles | Age: 44

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