PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla., Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The Charlotte Harbor Regional Center (CHRC) and its first EB5 development project - Charlotte Harbor Marina - continues to gain recognition locally as well as from foreign investors.
Last month, due to the increasing popularity of EB5 projects on Florida's Gulf Coast, the CHRC was profiled in the Gulf Coast Business Review (http://www.review.net/section/detail/foreign-capital-local-jobs/). The CHRC is a unique EB5 project because it is one of the only Regional Centers in the United States that was given approval by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to include Sales (unrestricted) as one of its target industry economic clusters and focus of investment activity. This mixed-use, commercial waterfront property is also shovel ready (fully permitted and approved at all levels) and provides a safe, flexible equity or debt investment option for EB5 investors.
Foreign investors have taken note of these special features. In May, attendees of the Invest In America 2011 Summit in Guangzhou, China named the CHRC the "best Regional Center" and Charlotte Harbor Marina the "best EB5 project" out of approximately 50 top regional centers in the U.S.
Currently, the CHRC is partly funded by $10 million in commitments from 20 foreign investors.
"We hope to bring in 60 investors to raise the remaining $30 million needed to fund the project," says Allen Heise, President/CEO, Charlotte Harbor Regional Center.
Interest in the project continues to come from China. Samuel Jian, Vice Chairman of Guangdong Entry and Exit Immigration Service Association, a Chinese migration agency that represents as many as 60 EB5 investors, recently visited the mixed-use marina project to view the construction activities on-site. Jian also joined Heise in Tampa, Fla., to meet with officials from the USCIS.
This week, Heise will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to meet with USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas to discuss ways to improve the EB5 Regional Center Pilot Program to help expedite job creation.
For more information about the Charlotte Harbor Regional Center, visit www.EB5guys.com.