Oceanwide Holdings CEO Thomas Feng and Oceanwide Plaza
Oceanwide Plaza is sinking deeper in debt.
The megaproject in Downtown Los Angeles and its developer, Oceanwide Holdings, have been hit with new claims from contractors for unpaid work, bringing the total amount owed to $98.6 million. That’s almost twice as much as was owed last month.
The new claims against the Chinese developer are in the form of mechanic’s liens, which are placed against a property as compensation for unpaid work. They are most commonly used by contractors and material suppliers to recoup what they say is money owed.
Work on the three-tower $1 billion project halted two months ago. As of Wednesday morning, there were about 15 workers on site, according to Curbed. A representative for Oceanwide Holdings has yet to confirm whether construction restarted. At the time work stopped, Oceanwide said it was recapitalizating of the project and would resume construction in mid-February. It never did.
On Monday, a subcontractor filed a mechanics lien for $1.4 million for concrete work. Last month, Webcor Construction filed a $52.8 million claim. While some have been settled, there are still nine active liens on the project.
Lendlease, Oceanwide’s general contractor, has yet to file its own lien.
Once completed, Oceanwide Plaza will include two 40-story towers, a 49-story tower and a 150,000-square-foot mall. It is one of the largest real estate projects under development in the L.A. area. [Curbed] — Natalie Hoberman