I Fei Chang, CEO and president of Greenland USA, is standing in the areas of under-construction, on Monday May 18th, where will be a mix-use project that includes 14 towers of residential and commercial buildings with public park. [Photo by Han Meng / For China Daily]

As she talks excitedly about Greenland USA's $4.9 billion Pacific Park project in Brooklyn, New York, I Fei Chang reveals that this development and another in Los Angeles called Metropolis, represent the company's future strategy and vision.

"We want to be a part of the rebirth of the American city. Younger people don't want to drive as much and want to live closer to the city. We want to develop projects like this that can become a cornerstone of the community," Greenland's president and CEO told China Daily.

As chief executive of Greenland, Chang is one of the biggest real estate developers in the US, overseeing $6 billion worth of projects. Her company Greenland USA, is part of Shanghai-based Greenland Holding Group, which has been at the forefront of a wave of Chinese investment in overseas real estate, investing about $20 billion in foreign projects since 2013. Greenland has expanded into 13 cities in nine countries, including Australia, South Korea and Thailand.

Chang is not a novice when it comes to property development. She possesses more than two decades of experience in international development. A native of Taiwan who earned two master's degrees from Yale University in architecture and environmental design, Chang's previous projects included a $4-billion master-planned community in St. Petersburg, Russia. From 2004-07, Chang worked on large-scale developments in Dalian, Shanghai and Wuhan.

Pacific Park and Metropolis are Greenland USA's signature projects in the US and will serve as a template for future company developments in the country.

Brooklyn's Pacific Park is a 22-acre mixed-use development with the Barclay Center Arena as a neighbor that is a joint venture between Greenland and New York City's Forest City Ratner Cos. The 8 million-square-foot development will have all the makings of a live-work-play destination, with more than 6,000 residential units including over 2,000 ``affordable" units, 247,000 square feet of retail space and 336,000 feet of office accommodations and even a new elementary school.

The project's name reflects one of its most prominent features: an eight-acre public open space to be known as Pacific Park.

Metropolis will rise on a 6.3-acre site strategically bordering the Harbor Freeway and situated between the Financial District to the north and the Los Angeles Live Hotel and Entertainment complex, including the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center, to the south.

The first phase of the $1 billion Metropolis project will include a 18-story luxury hotel with 350 rooms and a 38-story residential tower that will house approximately 300 units. Designed by Gensler, the planned two-phase development will ultimately consist of one high-rise hotel and three residential buildings, all featuring retail on the ground floor. The first phase, comprising the hotel and 38-story high-rise, broke ground in February 2014 while the second phase followed suit in December. Greenland anticipates completing the first and second phase by the end of 2016 and 2018, respectively.

The Metropolis project has had a long and uneven history. The parcel was first assembled in the late 1980s. An economic downturn in the 1990s halted stalled the project, and in the mid-2000s another developer took over and then came the 2008 financial crisis and a severe real estate downturn. The developers sold the site to Greenland for nearly $150 million.

Bill Allen, president and CEO of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said Chang and Greenland took over the Metropolis project at a critical time in the summer of 2013.

"From our first meeting she made it clear she wanted this project done as quickly as possible. When I-Fei said she wanted a groundbreaking in February of 2014 few of us thought she would get that. She not only accomplished that but is also doing a remarkable job of getting the most out of our private and public participants in the project," Allen told China Daily.

Chang and Greenland have also drawn positive attention for their work in the community. "She and her company have gone out of their way to engage with the community here in Los Angeles. We are thrilled to have her on this project and frankly I hope Greenland will do additional projects in Los Angeles," said Allen.

Both Metropolis and the Pacific Park in Brooklyn are united by a common theme of bringing together all the dynamic elements of urban life in what were once downtrodden areas of Los Angeles and New York, respectively.

"The projects will become a part of the movement towards trendy urban living," Chang said. "More people want to live and work in the central city. There is an excitement in living in the city. People want access to that and they don't want to have to drive and deal with parking to enjoy it."

Chang said this new type of urban renewal will form the basis for Greenland's future expansion plans in the US. "We will continue to seek similar opportunities in other gateway US cities," she said. For now Greenland is focusing on urban areas in both coasts. As for certain neglected US cities like Detroit or Newark, New Jersey, Chang said those areas are "too much of a challenge" right now.

Since it was authorized in 1990, the EB-5 program that gives foreigners a green card in exchange for investing in the US has been an economic bonanza, creating over 57,000 jobs and injecting $8.6 billion into the economy. The Chinese have been the largest participants. China Daily reported earlier this year that Forest City Ratner has raised more than $475 million for Pacific Park near the Barclays Center.

Chang admits that EB-5 funding is important. "However, we don't just rely on EB-5. We have other financing in place as well."

Metropolis and Pacific Park are mixed-use developments which mean the projects have a combination residential, commercial, retail and even an open space component. "We like mixed-use development," said Chang. "Greenland is the number one large scale mixed use developer in China. It is an area where we build upon our experience."

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com