Culture Reporter 

Sam Mondros

$3,600 a month for no heat and a leaky ceiling? Tenants of real estate empress Sophie Lau say they've seen it all.

Sitting on tons of real estate, the transit agency has built thousands of units so far—with thousands more to go. 

Bribing billionaire Zhang Li is behind the real estate company at the center of the scandal that has left residents complaining of mismanagement.

This is the company’s second round of layoffs this year; it has also started to downsize its San Francisco real estate holdings. 


The stretch of Downtown San Francisco once contained some of the country’s most expensive real estate. Now it’s an indicator of decline.