Affordable Housing

Brownfield Redevelopment

Environmental Compliance

• Advising clients on the responsibilities, exposures and liabilities that result from federal, state and local environmental legislation and regulations
• Guiding clients through environmental impact review processes and the regulations relating to traffic patterns, air pollution, coastal areas and wetlands
• Counseling on regulatory issues relating to land use, hazardous substances and asbestos

Financing, Incentives, Restructuring

Financing

• Counseling in the formation of
  • Syndications
  • Joint ventures and partnerships
  • Construction and permanent financing
  • Tax-exempt and taxable bond financing options
  • Sale and leaseback transactions
  • Synthetic leases
  • Securitized or structured finance, such as REITs, REMICs and commercial mortgage-backed securities

• Representing clients in a wide range of issues involving LIBOR or Eurodollar rate options, interest rate and currency swaps, participating (shared appreciation and convertible) mortgages, and real property tax abatements and exemptions

Economic Development Grants and Incentives

• Helping clients access all available incentives to take advantage of all applicable financing options such as the New Markets Tax Credit, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Brownfield Tax Credits and Historic Tax Credits

Financial Restructuring

• Restructuring equity investments in, or debt on, distressed properties
• Assisting in transactions that include “equity kicker” arrangements that allow for shared appreciation, or equity conversion for financial restructuring and workouts

Improving New York State Through Economic Development

Land Use and Zoning

Litigation

• Representing clients in land title disputes, foreclosure actions, deed-in-lien transactions, tax assessment proceedings, condemnation actions, zoning appeals, landlord and tenant disputes and disposition of mechanic’s liens

Qualified Opportunity Zone Program

Retail Real Estate in New York State

Transactions

Project Development

• Counseling clients on all aspects of site acquisition and zoning and development approvals
• Coordinating the interests of developers and municipalities and working effectively with construction teams to conclude projects in a timely and cost-effective way
• Assisting clients in balancing their needs with the many constituencies affected by large development projects
• Working closely with zoning and planning boards

Property Acquisitions

• Assisting clients with all aspects of property acquisitions, including:
  • Purchase and sale agreements
  • Zoning and development approvals
  • Equity or debt syndications
  • Formation of limited liability companies, limited partnerships and other entities
  • Architectural and construction contracts
  • Electric utility rate agreements
  • Construction and long-term financing
  • Tax deferral exchanges
  • Tax-exempt and taxable bond financing options

Due Diligence

• Coordinating and managing all of the due diligence investigations and administrative details of a commercial real estate transaction, including:
  • Title review and the placement of title insurance
  • Analysis of property surveys, zoning and land use research and compliance confirmation
  • Review and analysis of all property related reports, such as environmental and engineering reports, and preparing all necessary documents

Pre-Closing Review and Title Insurance

• Providing title services through our firm’s title insurance agency, which has the authority to write title insurance policies for some of the country’s largest title underwriters
• Insuring property interests and arranging for the necessary title curatives to provide insurance in form and substance satisfactory to our clients