What was pitched as a path to waterfront living and U.S. residency has turned into a courtroom slog for dozens of foreign investors in Tacoma.
A group of EB-5 investors says they lost roughly $39 million and saw green card approvals stall after putting money into a loan tied to Point Ruston’s Phase II. The investors filed a federal complaint in Tacoma this week, alleging the development’s financial collapse left them with big losses and immigration uncertainty. Their suit names multiple Point Ruston entities and seeks repayment, damages and an accounting. Plaintiffs say the project’s legal fights and transfers of property undermined the investment that was tied to their U.S. visa timelines.
According to a complaint reviewed by KING 5, 78 investors, many from China, invested $500,000 apiece into AURC III, LLC, contributing about $39 million. That fund in turn loaned the money to Point Ruston Phase II. The complaint names Point Ruston LLC, Point Ruston Phase II LLC, Loren Cohen, the estate of Michael Cohen and several affiliated companies as defendants. It asks the federal court for damages, repayment, an accounting and a jury trial, and says immigration approvals for some investors were delayed or left uncertain by the project’s collapse.
What the financing looked like
The Phase II plan was billed as a roughly $169.1 million waterfront buildout that would include apartments, a multiplex movie theater, retail space, a hotel and more than 1,400 structured parking spaces, with EB-5 capital meant to supply a major portion of the financing. The EB-5 arm of the deal traces back to a $66 million loan arranged in 2013 to help capitalize the Waterwalk/Point Ruston phase two, a history detailed in court records and state appellate filings. That loan, the arbitration that followed and later courtroom rulings have been central to years of litigation tied to the site.
Judgments and foreclosure moved the site into creditor hands
Pierce County courts entered a judgment in favor of AURC III totaling roughly $91.7 million to collect on the loan and accumulated interest, penalties and fees, and a foreclosure decree ordered parcels tied to that debt to be sold to satisfy the judgment. Reporting and court documents trace the judgment and outline a foreclosure process that encompassed the Waterfront Market and the public parking garage above it. Local coverage says the decree set up a sheriff’s sale and opened the door for lenders to press collection across multiple Point Ruston parcels…