Oceanwide trims back to lone US project in LA

Oceanwide has officially trimmed back to one development in the U.S. — its unfinished, 2 million-square-foot Oceanwide Plaza project in Downtown Los Angeles.

Earlier this month, the China-based developer signed a deal to sell a 484-acre site in Hawaii for $92.9 million — a $25 million loss for the company, according to financial filings with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Oceanwide is selling the property to Tower Development, a Honolulu-based developer.

The company previously had four U.S. developments: a project in Manhattan’s South Street Seaport, a 2.4-million-square-foot skyscraper development in San Francisco, Oceanwide Plaza in L.A., and the 484 acres on the island of Oahu.

Oceanwide is in default on the $175 million loan backed by the Manhattan development site and has lost control of its San Francisco project to its creditors and has sold the project in Hawaii.

A representative for Oceanwide did not respond to a request for comment.

The company has not made any default on Oceanwide Plaza, and has not made any disclosures regarding a potential sale or refinancing since 2020. An effort to save Oceanwide Plaza is still in the realm of possibility.

In June of last year, Oceanwide said it needs another $1.2 billion to finish up construction of the L.A. project, where the main structure is entirely completed, and nearly 60 percent of all electrical work is finished, according to recent filings.

The sale of the Hawaii project doesn’t get close to funding the rest of the construction in L.A., but it does clear debt with bondholders tied to the island project, giving Oceanwide one less financial hurdle.

Oceanwide has also cleared up a number of mechanic’s liens filed against the L.A. project in recent months, a pile of debt that has at times totaled hundreds of millions of dollars. In January 2020, Martinez Steel, a steelmaker that has worked on SoFi Stadium, filed a lien against the project, claiming Oceanwide owed around $151,500 for rebar installation and materials. Earlier this month, that claim was resolved.

In any case, Oceanwide’s U.S. subsidiary has managed to stave off defaulting altogether.

Last week, the company extended a deadline to pay back $134 million in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds to September, Shenzhen Stock Exchange filings show. Interest payments on the bonds were supposed to be due this week and more interest on $210 million worth of bonds is due in May.