Arent Fox has been involved in a large number of real estate development projects all over the world across a number of industries. The following projects and transactions provide a glimpse into the depth and breadth of our development practice.
Hospital
Our attorneys have significant experience in the structuring and closing of complex real estate transactions in the health care industry. Arent Fox provides a multidisciplinary team-approach to address all aspects of a transaction including regulatory compliance, tax, bond financing, and real estate.
We have represented:
- Orange Regional Medical Center in the in the replacement of two antiquated hospitals with a new hospital (the first to be constructed in New York in over 20 years), which involved the sale of non-core real estate assets, the sale/leaseback of a large medical office building to a commercial developer, application for and receipt of approximately $50 million in state grant funds to support the development of the replacement hospital and to retire debt associated with the existing hospitals, the retirement of outstanding debt on the existing hospitals, the sale/leaseback (during construction of replacement hospital) of the two antiquated hospital facilities to two separate newly created nonprofit community development corporations, and the long-term tax-exempt financing of the replacement hospital.
- Specialty Hospitals of America, LLC in obtaining financial assistance from the District of Columbia to acquire and develop Greater Southeast Hospital, which is now the 184-bed United Medical Center offering community-based healthcare services to residents living east of the Anacostia River.
Hotel & Resort
Arent Fox represents developers of hotel and resort properties on all aspects of hotel and resort development. Our clients range from multinational Fortune 100 clients to private real estate and hotel development firms and include a number of hospitality real estate investment trusts.
We have assisted:
- Marriott International in the development of (i) the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa, a 1,000-room hotel with two TPC golf courses; (ii) the Grande Lakes Resort & Spa in Orlando, a 1,000-room JW Marriott hotel, a 584-room Ritz-Carlton hotel, and a Greg Norman Championship golf course; (iii) the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix, a 950 room hotel with an Arnold Palmer Signature golf course; and (iv) the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, a 610 room hotel with a 27-hole Arnold Palmer Signature golf course.
- Extended Stay Hotels in connection with its acquisition, financing, and development of more than 50 hotel properties throughout the northeastern United States under the Crossland Economy Suites, Extended Stay America, Extended Stay Deluxe, Homestead Studio Suites, and Studio Plus Deluxe Studios brands.
- Various RLJ Funds in connection with a number of transactions involving more than 220 hospitality assets worth in excess of $4 billion, including the acquisition of a portfolio of nearly 100 hotels from White Lodging Services Corporation, various hotel and resort acquisitions, the disposition by merger of an entity owning 22 hotels, and mezzanine and mortgage-backed financings, refinancings, loan modifications, loan purchases, loan assumptions, and loan defeasances involving more than $2 billion in debt obligations.
Industrial Warehousing
Arent Fox provides guidance to clients in the acquisition, development, financing, and leasing of industrial, warehouse, and distribution facilities across the United States. Our clients include national, regional, and local distributors, developers and investors, and their projects range from single warehouse buildings to large distribution centers and industrial parks.
We have represented:
- An institutional majority equity investor in the development, financing, and construction of more than ten different industrial/warehouse projects located in or near major cities in California, Texas, and Georgia, including related joint venture work.
- Multiple client owners and distributors in leasing, purchasing, developing, and operational issues relating to refrigerated and dry warehouse space for distribution centers throughout the United States.
- Developer of a multitenant commercial warehouse center in Prince George’s County, MD.
Infrastructure
Our attorneys advise developers, contractors, owners, operators, lenders, investors, and governments on complex projects such as solar farms, wind farms, ethanol plants, federal facilities, stadiums and arenas, telecommunications systems, mass transit systems, and roads. We have extensive experience in fashioning complex financing and refinancing structures involving private and/or public sources.
We have been involved in a number of infrastructure engagements, including:
- Osage Bio Energy in the acquisition of a site in Hopewell, VA, for development of a fuel-grade ethanol plant with a capacity of 65 million gallons per year, including settling pending litigation, negotiating a development agreement with the City of Hopewell, and obtaining an equity commitment from First Reserve Corporation.
- Mobilitie SMS in the design and construction of a complex, sub-grade New York City fiber-optic telecommunications network.
Mixed-use
Arent Fox has extensive experience counseling clients on the complex and unique issues that arise in mixed-use projects. We are skilled in structuring mixed-use transactions involving residential, office, retail, hotel, public, and other uses; drafting and negotiating transaction documents; and addressing land use and tax issues.
We have assisted:
- Forest City Ratner Companies’ development of Spruce Tree Condominium/Beekman Tower, a $680 million, 76-story condominium tower in Lower Manhattan—the tallest residential building in New York City and designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The building will contain a pre-K through 8th grade public school, an ambulatory care facility, residential apartments, ground-floor retail space, parking, and adjacent public plazas.
- Represented developer in connection with the land disposition agreement for the acquisition of parcels owned by the Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) (now the National Capitol Revitalization Corporation) on which The Portals, a five-building project, was developed. Our services included drafting and negotiating a complex declaration of easements and covenants with the District of Columbia and the RLA, which provided for easements along the parcels, construction of public improvements on private property, and public space and scenic easements. In addition, we represented Republic Properties Corporation, as owner of the $1 billion mixed-use Portals project in Washington, DC, which includes one million square feet of Class-A office space.
- The real estate investment arm of a major insurance company as the primary equity investor and co-developer of Atlantic Station in Atlanta. As one of the largest mixed-use projects in the nation, Atlantic Station is a brownfields development that includes a town center, high-rise office buildings, free-standing big box retail, free-standing residential (condos and rental), office over retail, residential over retail, residential over office and retail, hotels, residential over hotel, a movie theater, a supermarket, a department store, specialty shops, restaurants, a central cooling plant and a 6,500-plus space parking deck underlying much of the project. Transit options are an integral part of the project and include a new bridge built over an interstate highway, connector buses, and connections with Atlanta’s light rail system.
Multifamily
Arent Fox represents clients in all phases of the development of multifamily housing projects. Our practice includes transactions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and we have been engaged to represent clients in overseas multifamily housing projects. We have particular experience in construction loans, mezzanine financing, tax-exempt financing, low-income housing tax credits, securitized financings, and use of HUD programs.
Representative transactions include:
- Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars in the development of a $33.5 million residential facility in Washington, DC, completed in 2010, providing assistance in the negotiation of the site acquisition (which included a bargain sale and seller financing), the development agreement, and the tax exempt bond financing used to fund the project.
- A credit enhancer in development transactions totaling more than $2 billion and issued by the New York State Housing Finance Agency and the New York City Housing Development Corporation, involving many of New York City’s premier residential rental properties.
- An investment bank in the largest pooled bond mortgage program in the nation (approximately $1.8 billion) related to multifamily housing projects financed on behalf of real estate developers and secured by various security and subsidy programs (including FHA, REMIC, and SONYMA mortgage insurance; GNMA securities; and payments through Section 8 and Section 236 programs) and a pledge of New York City’s interests in a pool of mortgages as well as various interests under REMIC trusts.
Nonprofit
Arent Fox structures transactions to take full advantage of the tax-exempt status of our clients and minimize tax on unrelated debt-financed income and techniques to avoid or reduce local real property tax. We represent nonprofits and end users of real estate, including in the financing, acquisition, leasing and development of real estate for nonprofits, turnkey development, in-leasing, out-leasing and “like minded” leasing in which unrelated business taxable income is avoided.
We have represented:
- Arena Stage, the largest theater dedicated to American playwrights, on the design and construction of a $135 million overhaul of its existing facility, including the related public and private financing
- Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in the assembly and acquisition of a site, the engagement of architects, a developers and several other professionals, to develop on that site an approximately 300,000-square-foot mixed-use building in Washington DC, to be used primarily as AAMC’s headquarters, in the financing of that project utilizing a combination of taxable and tax exempt debt, the creation of a condominium under which elements of the project will be held, and in the sale (and previously leasing) of its existing office condominiums. We also have assisted the Association in securing recognition for real property tax exemption, various ERISA and other federal tax matters, various intellectual property matters, and other general corporate matters in a relationship that dates back to the late 1980s.
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Council in connection with the planning, design, construction, and operations of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which has had more than 30 million visitors (partner, Gerard Leval, also serves as general counsel to the Council, the Museum’s governing board).
Office
From financing to disposition, Arent Fox helps lenders, landowners, developers, and other stakeholders manage all aspects of office building transactions, including acquisition, financing, joint venture formation, construction, leasing, and land use.
Representative transactions include:
- A New York-based developer in all aspects of the acquisition, development, and construction of The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, the largest building in Washington, DC, and the second largest federal building behind the Pentagon at 3.1 million square feet, and the first and only federal building dedicated to both government and private use.
- Forest City Ratner Companies in the development of a 32-story, 1,150,000-square-foot courthouse and commercial office building in downtown Brooklyn/
- A Washington DC-based developer on the development and construction of MedImmune, Inc.’s $88 million state-of-the-art research and development facility and worldwide corpofrate headquarters, covering 750,000 square feet on 22 acres in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Restaurant
Our attorneys counsel restaurateurs, restaurant investors, and restaurant landlords on all aspects of restaurant development, including the acquisition, financing, and leasing of restaurant space and the negotiation of consulting and management agreements. Our extensive knowledge of restaurant operational issues makes us particularly adept at navigating restaurant transactions.
We have represented:
- ThinkFoodGroup LLC in connection with the acquisition, financing, and development of José Andrés-branded restaurants in Doha, Dorado Beach, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, DC.
- Silver Diner, Inc. in the acquisition, financing, and development of Silver Diner restaurants across the Mid-Atlantic.
- Avani Investment Group in the acquisition, financing, development, and franchising of a Boston’s Pizza in Waldorf, MD.
Senior Living
Arent Fox has represented sellers and purchasers in some of the largest real estate transactions in the senior living industry. We provide counsel on land use, development, and title issues affecting senior living clients’ properties, negotiate master leases and management agreements on behalf of tenant and landlord clients for senior living facilities, and structure and negotiate financing transactions for senior living facilities, including acquisition financing and refinancing.
We have assisted:
- Sunrise Senior Living on the negotiation of development, joint venture, management, and financing agreements related to more than 100 properties (located in 21 states and valued at over $1 billion in the aggregate) comprising eight portfolios involving six separate joint venture partners and several different construction lenders.
- Horizon Bay Retirement Living as seller, tenant, and manager in the sale, lease, and manage back of a portfolio of 20 senior living facilities in seven states for a sale price of $562 million.
