Chinese-born real estate investor Maggie Gong Miracle, who also goes by Yi Chang Gong, is the developer behind Hollywood’s latest $1-billion proposed development.
Her real estate development firm filed updated plans for a $1 billion office space at 6061 West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, according to an announcement earlier this week.
The tower would be her first commercial development, though Miracle owns at least two large spec projects.
But despite the big price tag, Miracle remains a rather mysterious figure in real estate, with a limited online footprint and interviews over the years.
She is a former real estate agent who left Coldwell Banker last year, and is not currently registered with any brokerage, according to state records. She still holds a real estate license.
Last year, a limited liability company associated with her listed a 35,000-square-foot mansion in Bel-Air for $185 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. No sale materialized, according to available public records.
Another LLC, 911 Tione Road, lists Yi Chang Gong as the owner. In addition to these higher-profile projects, Miracle owns the house located at 1231 Shadow Hill Way in Beverly Hills, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark. It’s a six-bedroom, 12-bathroom mansion that Zillow estimates is worth $21.5 million.
For the Hollywood project, she bought the property for $64.1 million back in 2017, records show.
She scored a $45 million loan from Bank of Hope on the property, in addition to a $9.95 million loan, according to loan documents filed with Los Angeles County.
Miracle declined to comment on financing or who the project’s other investors are.
In 2021, she unveiled a $500 million proposal for the site, designed by Chinese firm MAD Architects. The previous plans and renderings showed an egg-shaped building sheathed in glass, with the project called The Star.
A lawsuit by environmental groups claimed the design would kill birds that would careen into the windows at high speed, though it’s unclear if the lawsuit was the reason the project was redesigned.
The new design has scuttled the egg form, and now features a cylindrical tower with gardens spiraling up the exterior.
With the new design, the developer will still need to apply for a rezoning, as the site’s current property class is listed as a one-story motion picture, radio or television studio.
The idea behind the project was to create an office space of the future in a post-pandemic era.
“Since COVID, the importance of a healthy workplace and access to fresh air and outdoor space has been a driver, especially for those in the entertainment and tech industries,” Miracle told The Los Angeles Times at the time of her first design’s proposal. “The change in design is meant to respond to those demands.”
Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, the architect behind Apple Park in Cupertino and the master plan for The One Beverly Hills hotel, will take the lead in the new design.