China City’s Brickell development site under new ownership

A full block of vacant land in Brickell is under new ownership, court records show.

The development site, at 1420 South Miami Avenue, was previously owned by CCCC International USA, an affiliate of China City Construction Holding Group Co. It is now controlled by entities tied to Rega Group, a California developer.

The land has been vacant since before the Chinese company acquired the 2.78-acre property in 2014 for nearly $75 million.

A lawsuit filed by Champ Prestige International against both companies, Rega Center Miami Holdings LLC and Rega Center LLC, was dismissed on April 3, according to the South Florida Business Journal. A lis pendens that was blocking the property from being sold was dissolved by Judge Michael Hanzman.

That prime piece of Brickell real estate has sat vacant for years, with CCCC International allegedly failing to make any effort to develop the property, according to a previous lawsuit. The land is a block away from Related Group’s SLS Brickell tower and other high-rise developments.

The lawsuit alleged that China City Construction agreed to buy back Champ Prestige’s shares if China City failed to raise money through the EB-5 visa program. Champ Prestige paid $40.51 million for a 45 percent stake in CCCC International in 2015, with a deadline to raise the funds by the first quarter of 2017, according to the lawsuit.

The Rega LLCs were added to the lawsuit at a later date. The companies are tied to Sen Wang, head of the Covina, California-based real estate firm Rega Group. CCCC International sold 55 percent of the interest in a new company to Rega Center LLC, which Champ Prestige had alleged was a “fraudulent transfer.”

Last year, China City sold a separate development site in North Beach for $40 million. [SFBJ] — Katherine Kallergis