Billed as the biggest U.S. real estate project ever, Hudson Yards promises to wow. Already it's trying new methods with its funding: The work taking place on the city’s West Side is bankrolled by some 1,200 Chinese families in exchange for U.S. visas, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Developer Related Cos reportedly raised $600 million from Chinese investors in order to build the foundation for three skyscrapers at the sprawling site. The funds were raised via the EB-5 visa program, which provides green cards to foreign families who invest at least $500k in U.S. projects that create 10 jobs per investor. Related expects to raise hundreds of millions more using the same method.
Overall, EB-5 business is booming. Roughly 11,000 foreign investors applied to use the program in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, up from 6,300 the prior year and a mere 486 in 2006, the Journal reports.
