Officials in Downtown Los Angeles are moving to cancel building permits for a $700 million mixed-use development embroiled in a sprawling federal corruption investigation working its way through the city government's highest levels. 

In June, Los Angeles City Planning Director Vince Bertoni, at the request of LA City Attorney Mike Feuer, informed the American subsidiary of Chinese developer Shenzhen Hazens Real Estate Group that the city had initiated “revocation proceedings” for the project's development approvals, The Real Deal reports. 

The 1020 Figueroa project in question is designed by a team that includes Gensler, Steinberg, and ABHE, and was approved in 2017 as a two-towered complex containing a 435 condominiums, a 300-room hotel, and an 80,000-square-foot retail podium. The development was set to join a growing string of hotel and apartment towers running adjacent to the Los Angeles Convention Center, the LA Live complex, and the Staples Center, but construction never got underway. 

Federal authorities allege that Shenzhen Hazens funneled "consulting" fees and favors to Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar, who was arrested on June 23rd by federal authorities on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act charges. Huizar, authorities charge, used his position on the Los Angeles City Council and its Planning and Land Use Committee to "solicit and accept lucrative bribes and other financial benefits to enrich himself and his close associates in exchange for Huizar taking official actions favorable to the developers and others who financed and facilitated the bribes."

The 1020 Figueroa project is one of a handful of developments that have been tied so far to the investigation, and city officials are working to review approvals for those projects, as well.