Real Estate & Finance

We counsel a diverse client base on transactions of varying sizes and degrees of complexity for real estate in the region and dispersed throughout the United States. Our work covers all major real estate use categories and asset types that may be performing or distressed. Our attorneys have a wide and deep skill set and decades of experience, exercising the judgment, practicality, grit and speed needed to achieve each client’s objectives consistent with business demands.

The real estate and finance team includes nine Chambers’ ranked attorneys. Chambers USA 2024 recognized our team in Band 3 for Real Estate, Band 2 for Real Estate: Finance and Band 1 for Zoning/Land Use. According to Chambers USA, 2023, clients reported,

“They have a good sense of the market and are active in terms of having a variety of cases.”

“The firm has a lot of great lawyers.”

“It’s a fantastic firm and a great team.”

Since the award’s inception in 2019, six of our partners have been named Real Estate Dealmaker of the Year by the Philadelphia Business Journal, including Katherine Missimer (2023), Brad Krouse, Heather Levine and Ron Patterson (2021), Hercules Grigos (2020), and Carl Primavera (2019). 

Select Representative Matters

• Representation of a joint venture investment in the $285 million mixed-use development of two separate projects, which will become the first private residences to be built at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia, PA. One property will be 267 units with over 10,000 square feet of retail space, and the other property will be 347 units, 92 designated as affordable units, with over 15,000 square feet of service retail space.
• Representation of a developer in obtaining construction and mezzanine loans to be used for the $253 million construction of a 47-story, 108-unit for-sale residential condominium tower in Philadelphia, PA.
• Representation of a privately held, global trading and technology firm in the complex negotiation of an office lease valued for relocating their New York City office to a trophy tower on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan.
• Representation of a developer on the acquisition and preconstruction financing of a Washington, DC office property in the amount of up to $207+ million (mortgage loan and mezzanine loan) and a preferred equity investment from an affiliate in the amount of $26+ million. The developer plans to convert the eight-story, 301,347-square-foot property into a 400-unit apartment building in the District’s West End.
• Representation of a real estate investment firm in the acquisition and financing of an iconic, historic mixed-use building in Philadelphia, PA, consisting of a hotel managed by a multinational hospitality company, office space, retail space and a fitness facility. Our client plans to invest $100 million in an array of renovations to the building, including converting the office space into apartments.
• Representation of a developer in the acquisition, zoning, development and financing of a $154 million large-scale mixed-use redevelopment of a historic former power plant on the Delaware River waterfront. The first phase consisted of the construction of a 507,000-square-foot mixed-use project consisting of, among other things, 284 multifamily units and 81,000-square-foot commercial space, including a new event venue.
• Representation of a developer for a $400 million 14-story city block development of over 1.5 million square feet – the largest remaining land parcel in Center City Philadelphia, PA – requiring a zoning bill change for the development, which we handled. This development includes 1,111 residential units, over 65,000-square-foot of first-floor retail, including a 40,000-square-foot supermarket, underground parking and commercial and business offices.
• Representation of a global real estate investment and redevelopment company in the zoning and land use of the horizontal development of 1,089 acres along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, PA, for industrial and life science uses. The $4 billion project is expected to take 10 to 15 years to build out fully.
• Representation of a Maryland-based developer on negotiating construction requirements with the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, zoning and land use matters and approvals for one of the largest waterfront residential developments in Philadelphia, PA – a $300 million development.
• Representation of a joint venture between two clients in negotiating the development contract and contracts with architects, engineers and construction contractors, and its obligations in connection with the tax-exempt financing for a $150 million development of a six-story graduate student housing facility in College Park, MD.
• Representation of a leading sports and entertainment company to obtain land use approvals for a proposed $1.3 billion basketball arena in Center City, Philadelphia, PA.
• Representation of a joint venture between two clients in the $41 million acquisition and financing of a historic property and certain surrounding properties in Old City, Philadelphia, PA. The joint venture intends to redevelop the property into a mixed-use project that includes a hotel, residential, and office.
• Representation of our client, an American chain of convenience stores, in negotiating contracts and finance negotiations for a $200 million project to develop a 500,000-square-foot research and distribution center in Findlay, OH.
• Representation of a Philadelphia-based real estate developer on a new $150 million, 43-story residential tower, bringing 468 new apartments to Broad Street in Philadelphia, PA. The residential tower would be built on a narrow surface parking lot, while a now-defunct municipal health center would be re-purposed as commercial and retail space.
• Representation of a New York-based developer in the acquisition of a 67-acre site from one the largest multinational chemical companies to construct a $175 million, 700,000-square-foot warehouse and logistics center for which we also assisted with entitlements and zoning.
• Representation of the owner of a 700,000-square-foot office/data center that is leased entirely to a Fortune 50 U.S. bank and serves as one of three global command centers in connection with (a) the settlement of a lease renewal dispute with the sole tenant of the property, and (b) the 1031 exchange of the property to a foreign REIT at a value of ~$239 million.
• Representation of a developer of a 33-story mixed-use high-rise in Philadelphia, PA, including obtaining variances and approvals for construction, negotiating and working with neighbors and civic associations, and drafting development agreements to win their support for the project.
• Representation of a New York-based developer in the acquisition, zoning and environmental matters of an existing parking lot in Southwest Philadelphia near Philadelphia International Airport for $26 million for redevelopment for a planned to become a 280,000-square-foot industrial facility.
• Representation of a leading developer of industrial real estate throughout the northeast US and one of the region’s largest owners of industrial space on the environmental aspects of its $30.7 million purchase of a 28-acre property in Montgomery County, PA. The property features a 340,000-square-foot industrial building that an auto body parts supplier occupies.