Real Estate Services

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Counsel From the Earliest Stage of Development Through Disposition of Projects

Throughout the continuum of financing, acquiring, developing, leasing and selling real estate are a multitude of complexities to address and challenges to overcome—from regulatory hurdles and shifting capital stacks to construction liabilities and environmental considerations. Real estate projects and deals require strategic planning, creative solutions, and careful oversight of countless moving parts to help avoid risks and maximize profitability.

Attorneys in Saul Ewing’s Real Estate Practice employ a comprehensive and pragmatic approach to help clients navigate complexities to realize their real estate vision. We serve a wide range of clients on local, regional and national levels, including developers, lenders, managers, purchasers, sellers, owners, investors, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and regulatory authorities. Our attorneys provide a broad array of services to address the unique needs and challenges that arise at every stage of a real estate project or transaction, including in the following areas:

  • Acquisitions/dispositions
  • Financing
  • Leasing
  • Construction
  • Land use: zoning, land development, permitting, environmental, transportation, utilities
  • Condemnations and regulatory takings
  • Extractions and entitlements
  • Public private partnerships (P3)/government contracts
  • Regulatory compliance (licensure and business permits)
  • Resolution and/or litigation of landlord/tenant disputes or property disputes

We advise on the entire lifecycle of an asset across a variety of classes, including:

  • Retail
  • Offices
  • Multi-family residential
  • Industrial warehouse/distribution
  • Hotels/motels/resorts/golf courses
  • College and university buildings and properties
  • Hospitals and medical offices
  • Public properties (museums, stadiums, convention centers, churches, parks)
  • Mixed-use buildings and properties
  • Land projects

We have particular experience in the robust expansion of higher education and health care facilities and mixed-use properties. For colleges and universities, we have assisted with the development of numerous on-campus dormitories and hotels, including P3 structures and mixed-use properties with retail stores on the ground level. In the health care industry, we have advised on the development and expansion of hospitals and the acquisition and disposition of medical offices. In addition, our team has extensive experience handling a variety of matters for large mixed-use properties that include hotels, multi-family housing, retail stores, entertainment centers, public spaces and parking garages.

Our team’s core qualities as creative problem solvers who are sophisticated and responsive with a keen attention to detail have contributed to our successful track record of getting matters done quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. For example, we regularly advise on innovative projects such as waterfront and urban revitalizations, sports arenas, and large mixed-use complexes. Our attorneys have helped clients negotiate projects with sophisticated structures and delicate environmental considerations. We also have written and proposed ordinances tailored to meet the creative nuances of complex mixed-use development projects, and we have coordinated multi-state transactions for the disposition or acquisition of multiple properties in a single transaction. 


 

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Various types of buildings

 

Asset Classes Map: Our Legal Services for a Variety of Real Estate Assets

 

 

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Client Spotlight: Saul Ewing Advises FLD Group in $185 Million Acquisition of Bala Plaza

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Experience

Saul Ewing attorneys advised on these select real estate representations:

Retail

  • The U.S. entity of a Canadian retail REIT in a wide range of acquisitions, dispositions, refinancings and leasing matters in Connecticut, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, including the $1.9 billion sale of its portfolio of 49 shopping centers throughout the United States.
  • A convenience store chain as national outside counsel, overseeing due diligence for planned expansion of its stores in more than 300 locations in Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including coordination with title companies, engineers, developers and landlord’s counsel. We are also assisting the company in entering new markets and handling some of their leasing matters.
  • A real estate development company in two separate transactions that resulted in the acquisition of the bulk of a shopping center in Pennsylvania for $17.9 million. The first transaction was the acquisition of a single tenant retailer/gas station and the second acquisition consisted of 15 in-line tenants. We negotiated the transactions, supported due diligence, advised on the title and survey, and closed the acquisitions and related financings.
  • A national grocery store chain in the development of its anchored shopping centers throughout Eastern United States, including advising on the purchase of raw land (often structured as sale/lease backs); drafting the leases; negotiating and drafting the covenants, restrictions and easements on the property; and addressing any construction-related issues that may occur with the projects.
  • A national retail REIT and a retail development company as co-developers in a major redevelopment of a shopping mall spanning three blocks in Philadelphia.
  • A national office products retailer in property acquisitions and dispositions, lease negotiation and drafting, and general landlord and tenant matters throughout the United States, including transactions in Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Texas.
  • A retail real estate developer in the development and sale of shopping centers throughout the Tampa Bay, Florida area. We handled all aspects of the transactions, including negotiating the purchase and sales contracts and retail leases with anchor tenants; drafting and negotiating covenants, restrictions and easements on the property; and addressing any plat-related issues for the division and development of the property.
  • A rapidly growing healthy fast-food restaurant chain in negotiating retail leases in Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
  • An international real estate developer on governmental permits and approvals in connection with the master plan of a large-scale retail and entertainment complex in Philadelphia, and also on the later expansion and renovation of the project.

Industrial Warehouse/Distribution & Manufacturing

  • A developer and operator of industrial warehouse and distribution facilities on various areas of its operations—from acquisitions and dispositions to financing and leasing matters—on all of its 62 industrial properties throughout 16 U.S. states, comprising more than 19 million square feet. In addition to handling transactional matters, we provide strategic counseling and advice in connection with its operations.
  • A manufacturer and supplier of construction and agricultural equipment in the disposition of surplus industrial, manufacturing and warehouse facilities in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Pennsylvania. We advised on contract negotiations, environmental liability and clean-up responsibility allocation, and the negotiation of remediation agreements, releases and indemnities, and sale-lease backs.
  • A private equity real estate fund in the acquisition and disposition of approximately $200 million in industrial properties in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
  • A large overseas institutional investor in the purchase of a $600+ million, 75-site portfolio of industrial properties in the Chicago metropolitan area in six tranches over 15 months. We also handled the refinancings and restructurings of the portfolio, including a deed-in-lieu transaction for a component of the portfolio.
  • Acquirers, owners and operators of industrial real estate in landlord leasing representation throughout its target markets, including California, Washington, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C.
  • An industrial REIT in the acquisition and development of a multi-building, two-million-plus square-foot industrial park in Pennsylvania, including LERTA tax designation for a portion of the park.
  • A global logistics park entity in Maryland in the redevelopment of a 3,100-acre former manufacturing site to create a world-class intermodal logistics hub. Our team has led the environmental remediation of this brownfields site and secured favorable agreements on behalf of the client with the U.S. Department of the Environment and the Maryland Department of the Environment. Our attorneys also drafted, negotiated and/or reviewed many of the leases in place. Additionally, we handled the only sale of a portion of the property to a foreign purchaser who will be building a factory to manufacture food products.
  • A ground shipping service company in connection with the acquisition of a 230-acre parcel in Pennsylvania, and with the zoning and land use approvals required to develop a state-of-the-art, 850,000 square-foot distribution hub on the property.
  • A sporting goods company in three build-to-suit leases in Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin, creating more than one million square feet of additional industrial space critical to the company’s expansion strategies.
  • An industrial REIT in land development approvals for a one-million square-foot manufacturing facility in South Central Pennsylvania.
  • A large redistributor of foods in the U.S. in building a four-million square-foot warehouse and distribution facility on a greenfield site in Delaware.
  • A distribution center in South Florida in property acquisition, land use, construction documents and leasing in connection with more than one million square feet of industrial property.
  • An online shopping company in landlord leases, leases of property for its Maryland sort and commerce centers, state and city incentives, and regulatory reviews for Delaware facilities.
  • A North American beverage distributor in property acquisition, land use, construction documents, and leasing in connection with a 250,000 square-foot facility in Tampa, Florida.
  • A Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company in the $66 million sale of its 300,000-square-foot facility to a contract development and manufacturing organization.
  • A Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company in national real estate matters, involving repurposing some sites and the sale acquisition and/or leasing of others. We negotiate agreements, oversee due diligence, and handle the assessment of entitlements and permitting requirements, as well as oversee the issuance of title insurance and closing. We also provide assistance with the disposition of environmental contaminated properties for purposes of redevelopment throughout U.S.

Offices

  • A global pharmaceutical products distributor in the negotiation and documentation of a long-term lease and related documents for a build-to-suit 430,000 square-foot office building and adjoining 1,500-car parking garage in Pennsylvania, which will become the company’s world headquarters.
  • A private equity real estate fund on the sale of an office park in Kansas for $295 million and the purchase of an office tower in Tennessee for $43 million.
  • A realty company in its sale of a corporate office park and four developed and tenanted parcels in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania for $19.75 million.
  • An owner and manager of commercial property in New England in drafting and negotiating office and retail leases on millions of square feet of property primarily in Massachusetts and Connecticut and also in handling all of the acquisitions and financings for these properties.
  • A global medical technology company in a wide range of office and industrial property acquisitions and dispositions, lease negotiations and drafting, preparation of construction contracts and solar installation agreements, easement negotiations, and sustainability/green advice regarding properties throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, including multiple transactions in Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.
  • A real estate development, leasing and management firm, in the lease negotiation of a food manufacturer’s new corporate headquarters for its 400 employees in Chicago, Illinois.
  • A Northeastern county in Pennsylvania in the $18 million conversion of a former department store into a county administrative center, combining offices that were scattered across the area. Our work included preparing design, construction management and contractor solicitations, agreements and construction documents; and advising on the sale of the county’s current office building and the termination of existing leases.
  • A real estate investment and management firm in property acquisitions and dispositions and lease negotiations and drafting throughout the United States, frequently working with global 2000 company lessors.
  • A commercial real estate investment firm in managing a leasing portfolio for a New York City-based high-rise commercial office building owner.
  • A Boston real estate developer in the $60 million acquisition of the Peninsula office complex consisting of twin office buildings in Boca Raton, Florida as the back side of a 1031 exchange.
  • A REIT on multiple loans, including two credit facilities and several acquisition loans, and in the redevelopment of property in Maryland on which will be constructed a county office building, including negotiating design/build agreements with the main project contractor of the county office building and for a church that is to be relocated in connection with the redevelopment.
  • A commercial real estate investment and management firm and its affiliates in the acquisition of 10 commercial office buildings in Maryland, Virginia and Massachusetts.
  • A corporation in the purchase of an office building in Pennsylvania. We assisted in all facets of the transaction, including negotiating the purchase and sale agreement, negotiating all financing documents, providing counsel on corporate structure and issuing enforceability opinions. We are also advising the client on leasing matters at the property.
  • A real estate investment firm in the acquisition of an office building in South Carolina. Our team was involved in all facets of the asset acquisition, including negotiating the purchase and sale agreement, assisting in the corporate formation and funding structure, and assisting with the closing process and leasing going forward.

Hotels/Motels/Resorts/Golf Courses

  • A real estate company in a series of acquisitions of Hampton Inns, Hilton Garden Inns and Courtyard by Marriott in Florida, Nevada and New Jersey.
  • A global timeshare company in the acquisition of a portion of an historic hotel in Washington, D.C. to add to its national timeshare vacation program. We handled the acquisition negotiations and drafted the purchase agreement, declaration of covenants and easements, resort integration agreement, and other hotel-related documentation. We assisted with labor union relations, historic property laws, zoning, accessibility laws, trademark law, brokerage laws, and regulatory laws involving the certificate of occupancy and hotel license.
  • A New Jersey university in the sale of a franchised hotel and two associated golf courses.
  • Purchasers in the acquisitions of Towneplace Suites by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, Staybridge Suites by IHG, Candlewood Suites by IHG, Home 2 Suites by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Wyndham Hotels and Best Western in California, Virginia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Delaware and Florida.
  • A real estate investment firm in acquiring Hampton Inns and Hilton Garden Inns in Colorado, Florida, Texas and Virginia.
  • A real estate development firm in hotel and other real estate developments nationally and internationally.
  • A hotel REIT in the acquisition of Le Meridien Arlington Hotel in Virginia.
  • A hotels and resorts company as local counsel with respect to its proposed purchase of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Multi-Family Residential

  • A multifamily housing owner/operator in dozens of residential acquisitions and dispositions in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and Texas. Recently, we advised on acquisitions that total more than 20,000 units with an approximate value of more than $2.5 billion, including two large portfolio purchases of approximately 5,000 units each spread across 18 properties each.
  • A European co-housing landlord expanding into the U.S. in performing zoning and housing law due diligence and in drafting a residential lease form for a new co-housing apartment building in Pennsylvania that will be master leased by the landlord from the developer for 10 years with extension options.
  • Two partnering companies that invest in and operate health care facilities in the refinancing of two separate portfolios of senior independent living and health care facilities under Fannie Mae’s multifamily financing programs in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. We served as borrowers’ and guarantors’ counsel, rendering loan enforceability opinions under District of Columbia law as the choice of law selected by Fannie Mae. Nearly contemporaneous with these two portfolio financings, we also served as local counsel for separate Freddie Mac financings of two health care facilities, one in the District of Columbia and the other in Philadelphia.
  • A real estate development, management and leasing company in preparing a 163-unit residential condominium regime in Washington, D.C., one of the largest for-sale residential condominium communities established in the area since 2009.
  • A large senior housing campus in West Palm Beach, Florida in the development of two residential towers and the $10 million acquisition of an abutting parcel for future development.
  • An owner/operator of multifamily real estate in obtaining permits and approvals for multiple residential apartment tower developments in Philadelphia, including the conversion of a former Archdiocese office building and parking lot into residential apartments.
  • A private equity real estate fund on the purchase of two multifamily properties in Nashville, Tennessee totaling $40 million.
  • A real estate investment, development and general construction firm in its acquisition of land in Miami, Florida. The seller was a nonprofit church and the developer agreed to build a new church within the podium of the developer’s residential tower.
  • A commercial and residential real estate firm in the acquisition of a multi-family residential property in Massachusetts.
  • An affordable multifamily housing nonprofit in its purchase of several distressed rental apartment projects in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. The client is seeking various subsidies from both federal and local governments to rehabilitate the projects in order to provide quality affordable rental housing to lower income local residents. We assisted, and continue to assist, with the negotiation and documentation of the acquisition of the distressed properties and the financing to rehabilitate the properties, including obtaining regulatory approvals.
  • A real estate developer in two refinancing transactions for a South Florida retirement community project. The first refinancing was for $46.8 million and the second refinancing was a securitized loan transaction for $62 million. The second transaction involved complexities given the number of opinion letters requested and the structuring clean-up necessary to enable a non-consolidation opinion to be issued. Since the project is partially funded with EB-5 proceeds, we also prepared and updated EB-5 offering documents.
  • A health care REIT with a portfolio of more than 1,000 long-term care facilities as local counsel in connection with the acquisition of nine facilities in Pennsylvania and two facilities in Virginia.
  • A multifamily residential developer on the $50 million commercial mortgage refinance with Freddie Mac of a 220-unit apartment complex in New Jersey.
  • A regional housing authority in defense of a lawsuit filed by an attorney general’s office in connection with claims that security measures were inadequate to protect the residents of several of its public housing communities. Our team provided advice and recommendations to the housing authority with respect to the terms of a consent judgment and order, which serve as a settlement agreement under which the housing authority will improve existing security measures and undertake certain new security measures over a certain period of time.
  • An investment group and its primary transactional counsel as local Maryland counsel in the $144.9 million sale of a 90 percent membership interest in a limited liability corporation that owns a 564-unit apartment community. Our team advised on Maryland state and county law, handling the preparation and processing of the county’s Right of First Refusal requirements. In addition we advised on the inapplicability of Maryland’s tax withholding requirements in the context of the sale of membership interests.

College/University Buildings & Properties

  • A university in Philadelphia in connection with an on-campus dormitory building redevelopment agreement.
  • A Chicago college in negotiations for a 10-year dormitory master lease of a new apartment building. This master lease will provide student housing for more than 330 students and marks a new era where all of the college’s dormitories are master-leased facilities.
  • A Pennsylvania college in connection with a public private partnership development of new student dormitories.
  • A New York university in the two-phase construction of a 1,000-bed student housing facility on its campus.
  • A Philadelphia college in negotiating a ground lease for, and in connection with, the public private partnership (P3) development of a mixed-use structure with student housing for 500-700 students that includes retail amenities. Additionally, we have represented the college in matters relating to its development of a parking facility and roof-top athletic facility, including the ground lease, lease amendments, conveyance agreements and tax appeals. The firm also represented the college in connection with another P3 development project for student and market-rate housing.
  • A Delaware university as outside real estate and land use counsel, including on the following matters: 1) a new 10-story office building; 2) the ground lease on its new technology campus that includes a Fortune 500 company’s research facility; 3) ground lease and construction issues in partnership with the Delaware Department of Transportation for a new passenger train station at its new technology campus; 4) the sale of a decommissioned dormitory site; 5) advice regarding cell towers and negotiation of cell tower leases with service providers.
  • A hotel and real estate development company in The Study at University City hotel project on Drexel University’s campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We advised on the legislative amendment to Drexel’s Master Plan, coordinated community and government relations, and successfully navigated the Civil Design Review and Art Commission review process. We also assisted the client with the ground lease and parking license negotiation and the construction contract negotiation and financing.
  • A hotel and real estate development company in The Study at University of Chicago hotel project on the University of Chicago’s campus. We advised on the agreement to enter into the ground lease, ground lease and parking license negotiation, and construction contract negotiation and financing.
  • A Pennsylvania college in connection with architectural and construction projects associated with its new Innovation and Discovery Center and Campus Commons.
  • A Pennsylvania university in obtaining land-use and zoning approvals for a student housing building.

Mixed-Use Buildings and Properties

  • A multinational development and financing corporation in a wide range of property acquisitions and acquisition-related operations matters for a 6.2 million square-foot retail and entertainment center in Miami, Florida.
  • A nonprofit focused on public amenities along Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront in connection with a $2.2 billion Penn’s Landing redevelopment project that includes plans to add 12 new towers and retail and hotel space. In addition, another portion of the redevelopment project involves a $225 million park that will cap Interstate-95 and reconnect Front Street in the Olde City section of Philadelphia to the riverfront between Chestnut and Walnut Streets.
  • A Pennsylvania university on a ground lease and development agreement with a master developer for a five-million square-foot mixed-use urban innovation district in Philadelphia designed to promote creativity, research, cooperative education, and technological advancement in a new neighborhood offering commercial office, academic, and research space, residential and hotel units, retail and restaurants, and iconic recreational spaces.
  • A private real estate company in securing a unanimous approval before the City of Miami Commission of a new 888-residential-unit project, which includes two hotels with 294 units on a 6.89-acre parcel in Miami, Florida.
  • A national developer in successfully overcoming several obstacles to convince the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) in Florida to award three prime city blocks on Atlantic Avenue. The project will include: 165 residential units; 40,000 square feet of commercial office space; 33,000 square feet of grocery space; 40,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, and more than 45,000 square feet of public space, including a dedicated public alley that will serve as the focus of the project. We also negotiated contracts with the CRA and are advising BH3 Management on land use matters.
  • A primary and specialty health care provider in securing re-zoning approval from the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners after a three-year process for the client’s final land development plan regarding a parcel in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania that will become a mixed-use site anchored with an ambulatory care facility.
  • An owner/operator of multifamily real estate in obtaining all City of Philadelphia development approvals and permits to convert the a property in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania into a modern mixed-use building. It will be anchored by the new international headquarters for a Fortune 500 company, additional commercial office space, and retail and restaurant space on multiple levels, fronting on a waterfront promenade that provides a pedestrian connection along the Schuylkill Riverfront.
  • A private real estate company and a parking and real estate development company as partners in a development that transformed two surface parking lots in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania into a gateway development featuring twin buildings offering hundreds of residential units and amenities, ground floor retail and restaurants, and enclosed public parking decks. Our work included assisting with the partnership agreement, advising on community relations, and obtaining zoning and land use approvals. The project fell within two separate city council districts, and involved collaboration with two city councilpersons, and several community organizations.
  • A real estate investment and development company in connection with the establishment and amendment of a sophisticated mixed-use master condominium regime in Washington, D.C. consisting of a retail unit, an “affordable unit” with approximately 36 income-restricted apartments and a “market rate unit” with 143 market-rate apartments. This project was sophisticated because it required the establishment of a master three-unit condominium prior to construction. Our team was instrumental in persuading the D.C. government to grant the required approvals that allowed the condominium to be recorded and for the financing of the project to close. We also advised this client on the amendment of all project documents for a similar project that includes more than 190 income-restricted and market-rate apartments.
  • An owner/operator of multifamily real estate in negotiating and drafting a hotel management agreement, technical services agreement and marketing license agreement involving the Hilton Hotels organization for a project that will be approximately 800,000 square feet and more than 100 stories high. The project will include 120 Waldorf Astoria hotel guest rooms, 565 branded ultra-luxury residential condominium units, a wellness center, an 800-space parking garage, and various other retail and amenity facilities.
  • An apartment developer in the Washington, D.C. area in the acquisition of a redevelopment site in Arlington, Virginia. The property is pre-approved through existing zoning and approved site plans for new construction of a mixed-use 23-story building containing 330 apartment units and 8,260 square feet of ground floor retail. Our team assisted in the negotiation of a sophisticated Purchase and Sale Agreement, conducted due diligence on title and environmental matters, negotiated development agreements with adjacent property owners, and advised on construction financing.
  • A joint venture in assisting with the redevelopment of a 10-acre site in Washington, D.C. The site will be redeveloped for a mixed-use community anticipated to consist of a major grocery chain store, several street-front retail, office and other commercial space, and multifamily rental and condominium housing, all located above a shared garage facility. We advised the client regarding project structuring, subdivision and air rights lot creation, and a master declaration of covenants, easements and restrictions to govern the relationship of all of the various components of the project.
  • A joint venture development company in one of the largest and most extensive real estate development projects in the history of the District of Columbia. The redeveloped property will be a retail, residential, office and medical center community, including various nonprofit companies providing education, affordable housing, food and health care.
  • A global real estate investment, management and development company in the development, financing and construction of a mixed-use project comprised of a hotel, a residential apartment/condominium building and retail located in Washington, D.C. We advised on how best to legally structure the project; drafted various condominium documents, covenants and easements for the project; obtained critical government approvals, and drafted the covenants and easements for the interaction of all the separate uses within the project.
  • A nonprofit focused on public amenities along Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront in connection with the ground leasing and redevelopment of a site for a $250 million residential apartment complex with commercial and retail components and public amenities.
  • A commercial real estate firm in the acquisition of a city block in downtown Oak Park, Illinois and on the construction of a high-rise residential apartment building with first floor retail and a parking garage. We also advised on the acquisition of a parcel of vacant land in Seattle, Washington for the construction of a residential apartment building and worked with local counsel on the development.

Hospitals & Medical Offices

  • A Pennsylvania hospital in zoning and land development approvals for a major expansion of the hospital, including a new parking garage, patient tower (with helipad), emergency department and related signage.
  • A hospital in Philadelphia in connection with development and campus expansion work, including land use and zoning matters. Most of the hospital’s efforts focus on the Center City and North Philadelphia areas of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the health care company wants to bring large facilities with many medical professionals.
  • A children’s hospital in connection with the lease of space at the site of a rehab training facility for youth. We assisted with leasing within the rehab training facility project, on behalf of the tenant, as well as with oversight of the landlord’s redevelopment of this multi-parcel site.
  • A developer and operator of post-acute rehabilitation hospitals in a project in Dover, Delaware for a 34-bed, 40,000 square-foot facility with an $8.5 million projected construction budget.
  • A large provider of general hospital health care services in the U.S. in connection with zoning and land development approvals for a ground-up hospital in West Manchester Township, Pennsylvania. After attending multiple township planning commission and board of supervisors meetings, the township confirmed that our client had satisfied all conditions of final land development approval.
  • A medical office property REIT in providing Tenant Default Letters, lease amendments and other related real estate services in Alabama, Tennessee and Texas.

Land Projects

  • A real estate investment company in its acquisition of vacant land in Miami, Florida that forms part of an Opportunity Zone (OZ). As part of the representation, we papered the joint venture agreement with an equity partner and created a structure that allows our client to partner with an OZ Fund in the next 12-24 months.
  • A Pennsylvania family on the more than $75 million development of its 350-acre estate outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania under a conservation/preservation plan with 61 new lots, nine lots with existing buildings and more than 200 acres of undeveloped area. Eventually it is expected that the undeveloped areas will be owned by the North American Land Trust (NALT), a 501(c)(3) conservation entity.
  • A land conservation trust in closing 12 conservation easement projects conserving more than 4,300 acres of highly developable land that is a significant natural habitat in the Gulf Coast of Texas; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Georgia. These projects are implemented by investor-backed conservation entities and result in tax deductions for the investors from the charitable donation of the conservation easements.
  • A family partnership in closing on the sale of phase one of the family’s land holdings surrounding in Chester County, Pennsylvania, concurrently with the issuance by the Chester County Industrial Development Authority of its $33.02 million Special Assessment Bonds. This was a significant transaction for the family given that the land in question has been owned by the family since 1942 and, almost since that time, the family had been working to develop the land and increase its value.
  • A land trust, the recipient of a conservation easement, in submitting an amicus brief on its behalf in a case in which the IRS challenged the tax deduction for the conservation easement. The IRS has been aggressively challenging conservation easement deductions, but the donor of the easement, supported by our amicus brief, won a comprehensive victory in the Eleventh Circuit supporting the easement.

Public Properties

  • A nonprofit focused on public amenities along Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront on matters involving the redevelopment of numerous piers and properties and the creation of a continuous jogging and biking trail along the central Delaware River waterfront in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The land use and zoning component of this project involved negotiations with various government officials and property owner stakeholders regarding proposed amendments to the Central Delaware Overlay in the Zoning Code.
  • A private joint venture entity in connection with all entity and project agreements associated with a multimillion-dollar transit center facility in Delaware, associated structured parking and first-floor retail, to be developed as a public private partnership with a local agency.
  • A Philadelphia museum in obtaining the necessary city ordinances, permits and approvals to close a block-long section and convert it into an arts plaza serving as a campus connector for the museum and a gateway from the convention center to Philadelphia’s museum and cultural district. We also negotiated the agreements for the design, construction and installation of a large public sculpture.
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