Real Estate Law

We leverage our in-depth Real Estate law knowledge, deal-making skills and cost-efficient service.

Across the nation and especially in and around New York, our skilled handling of real estate transactions has helped our real estate lawyers achieve an outstanding reputation in the industry. Leveraging our in-depth knowledge, creative deal-making, and diligent and cost-efficient service, we negotiate and close some of the country’s most sophisticated and significant real estate transactions on behalf of our clients.

We have particular experience serving real estate clients with respect to office buildings, including purchases, joint ventures, financings, sales, and space leasing and ground leasing of office buildings, residential rental condominium and hotel development sites, and retail leasing, where we represent major brand retailers in leasing retail space in Manhattan and across the U.S. We work with our tax and securities law colleagues on structures for tax efficient investments under the federal opportunity zone program. 

Recent transactions include numerous assemblages, often with portions containing air rights, grounds leases and condominium parcels. We have one of the most active air rights conveyancing practices in New York.

Our real estate attorneys also handle joint ownership arrangements, including condominiums, cooperatives and tenancies-in-common, negotiate like-kind 1031 exchanges, arrange workouts of distressed properties and counsel owners and investment bankers in offering real estate investment trust (REIT) shares.

Our real estate attorneys are nationally recognized by client and peer-reviewed rating groups such as Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for their abilities and effectiveness in real estate law.  The firm’s Real Estate Law practice has been acknowledged by the prestigious client and peer-reviewed directory Chambers USA for Real Estate: Mainly Dirt (New York) and recognized as "Best Law Firm" by U.S. News-Best Lawyers “Tier 1” in New York City Metropolitan and "Tier 2" Nationally. With regard to the Real Estate: Mainly Dirt (New York) practice Chambers noted that the "The firm's lawyers very much know what they are doing, while also being commercial and reasonable."

Noteworthy

Office/Condominiums/Rentals/Hotels Purchases, Development & Sales

• Represented an industry leading cancer research institution in a long-term lease for a 7-story building to be constructed to suit the institution on a parcel located on the Upper East Side. We then created a leasehold condominium for the institution to permit them to obtain a tax exemption under Section 420-a of New York's Real Property Tax Law. Our client then cooperated with the landlord to permit a $130 million mortgage on the fee estate.
• Represented Apollo Eight, a joint venture of Tristar Capital and RFR Holding Corporation, in acquisition of a 12-story, 317,804 square foot Amazon triple net leased office building in Seattle, WA.
• Represented client Tristar Capital in acquisition of a hi-tech office complex for $291 million from Rockwood Capital, triple net leased to one of the highest value tech companies in the world. The 15-acre office campus, which comprises three three-story office buildings of 350,000 square feet, is located in Sunnyvale, California, the heart of Silicon Valley.  
• Represented joint venture of TriStar Capital and RFR Holding in an acquisition of an Amazon.com triple net mixed-used building in Seattle, WA from Schnitzer West LLC for approximately $270 million.  
• Represented joint venture of Tristar Capital and RFR Holding in acquisition of Amazon Phase VII for $244 million office building triple net leased to Amazon. 
• Represented joint venture of Tristar Capital and RFR Holdings in the sale of Miracle Mile Shops, a 200-store indoor mall within the Planet Hollywood Resort located on the Las Vegas strip, to an investment partnership for approximately $1.1 billion. The 475,000 square-foot mall is celebrated as one of the 10 busiest malls in the country. Olshan initially represented the venture in the purchase of the mall in 2003 and handled the repositioning of the leases in the mall for several years and represented the venture in several refinancings, culminating in the sale. 
• Represented Bonjour Capital as it took title to 333 Greene Avenue, Brooklyn, New York from two bitterly fighting debtors. Originally, Olshan represented Banco Popular in a mortgage foreclosure action against the debtors. After achieving summary judgment, Banco sold the mortgage to a third party. Olshan represented Bonjour in the purchase of the mortgage from that third party, then moved to lift the stay. After negotiating with the debtors, Bonjour took title through a plan of reorganization. The deal will allow the new owner to proceed with the 57-unit rental project, which was on hold for six years.
• Olshan represented the purchaser of the iconic Mobil Building at 150 East 42^nd Street, including securing a $700 million loan from Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings to complete their acquisition of the leasehold position. The deal included a 99-year ground lease extension with the land owner, purchasing the existing leasehold from Hiro Real Estate, and creating a sub-leasehold condominium to accommodate Mt. Sinai Medical Center. Several Olshan practice groups represented the buyers in the transaction: Tax & Planning, Real Estate and Corporate/Securities.
• Represent developers of several luxury midtown and Upper East Side mixed-use and hotel properties in the acquisition and financing of the development projects.
• Lead counsel for a joint venture of Boston Properties and Madison Equities for the $200 million acquisition of an office building assemblage for what became 250 West 55th Street and which originally consisted of nine separate lots, two air rights parcels and three different simultaneous sellers.
• Purchase of defaulted mortgages and the workout, foreclosure and bankruptcy aspects related thereto.
• Represented a joint venture between Invesco and the Kaufman Organization in the 2010 acquisition of the 277,000 sq ft. office condominium unit of 100-104 Fifth Avenue, New York from the bankruptcy estate of Rock US Holdings for $93.5 million including the acquisition loan and a construction loan for improvements; the resolution of various operating issues after acquisition; and the 2013 sale of the property to Clarion for $230 million. 
• Sale of 295 Madison Avenue office tower for $180 million by the Korein family.
• Ground lease on behalf of the fee owner of the landmarked Lever Building, 390 Park Avenue.
• Represent developers in construction and mezzanine financings, skillfully working with the terms offered by various lenders, including negotiating the carve-outs from non-recourse loans, minimizing mortgage recording taxes and managing the inter-creditor relationships among the lenders and preferred equity holders.
• Represented three groups of investors, each of which wished to acquire a tenant-in-common interest in a $300 million office building in lower Manhattan to effectuate 1031 tax-deferred exchanges (including two reverse exchanges). We prepared the tenants-in-common agreement and handled the securitized mortgage and mezzanine loans.
• Sold a downtown Manhattan industrial building to a residential developer while retaining for our client an economic interest in the buyer. Our client kept the right to surrender the interest in exchange for the commercial condominium unit, which the buyer was obligated to construct pursuant to agreed plans. The condominium declaration was agreed upon in advance in order to protect the commercial unit.

Office, Retail and Specialized Leasing

• Represented real estate developer in a substantial lease for office, showroom and parking to Tesla in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
• Represent JEMB Realty Corp. in its leasing matters in NYC and at its development site located in Downtown Brooklyn known as One Willoughby Square. Also represented JEMB in its development agreement for One Willoughby Square.
• Represented real estate developer David Edelstein in a lease and collaboration with renowned restaurateurs Stephen Starr and Keith McNally bringing NYC Meatpacking District hotspot Pastis to the trendy Wynwood arts area in Miami.
• Represent Columbus Turnstyle LLC in the leasing, financing and development of TurnStyle, an underground marketplace in the 59th Street Columbus Circle concourse, including negotiating a master lease with the MTA, leases with individual retailers, financing and joint venture agreements, construction agreements and advertising agreements.

• Represented Kaufman Astoria Studios in the creation of a back lot on 36th Street between 34th and 35th Avenues in Queens to use as an alternative to location filming. The deal included a long term lease with New York City Economic Development Corporation until 2049.
• Represented the owner of a downtown New York City office building in a lease of approximately 100,000 square feet to Millennium High School.

• Atlantic City's Resorts Casino Hotel lease to Margaritaville casino-entertainment complex, including the leasing of outdoor seating along the Boardwalk and Beach Area.
• VF Sportswear, Inc. in leasing of corporate headquarters of approximately 175,000 square feet of office space in midtown Manhattan.
• Tommy Hilfiger complex leasing transactions involving four tenants at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in space relinquished by Lord&Taylor, allowing the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) to relocate and permit the arrival of advertising firm McGarry Bowen.
• Represent the owner of a downtown New York City office building in a lease of approximately 240,000 square feet to an agency of the State of New York.
• Represent landlord in lease by Trane Inc., the well known HVAC company, for the entire 625,000 square foot building on Tradeport Drive in Memphis, Tennessee.
• Kaufman Astoria Studios lease with Theatre Development Fund, a nonprofit theatre service organization that operates the TKTS booths, for approximately 16,000 square-feet for its costume collection.

Florida Hotels, Retail and Office Buildings

• Represented the ownership in connection with the acquisition and financing for 800 Lincoln Road, 530 Lincoln Road, 510 Lincoln Road, 918-920 Lincoln Road, Atlas Plaza in the Design District, and several Second Avenue properties in Wynwood.
• Represented the ownership in connection with a sale of property net leased to Yard House.
• Represented the ownership in connection with financings for the W Hotel.
• Represented the ownership in connection with the purchase, financing, joint venture, hotel management agreement  and sale of the Raleigh Hotel.
• Represented the Korein Family in its sale of 605 Lincoln Road in South Beach to Thor Equities for $22.5 million. The retail property includes three street-level retail suites in an office building in the heart of the Art Deco District.
• Represented long time client and New York-based developer, David Edelstein of Tristar Capital, in his purchase of the Raleigh Hotel, located in Miami Beach with partner, hotelier Sam Nazarian of SLS Hotels.
• Represent the landlord in two significant leases at Corporate Center One in Tampa, FL. OSI Restaurant Partners, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, renewed its headquarters’ lease for 120,000 square feet and added an additional 60,000 square feet. Consulting firm PB Americas agreed to a 29,000 square foot lease, relocating its headquarters from Atlanta, GA.
• Represented long time client and New York-based developer, David Edelstein of Tristar Capital, in his record setting $139 million sale of a three-building portfolio in Miami, Florida.
• Represented the buyers of the 425,000-square-foot Phillips Point Office tower along the downtown West Palm Beach, Florida waterfront, in a deal worth $138 million. Our clients were two New York-based, independent investment firms, the Winter Organization and Heller Properties. The seller was the State of New Hampshire through its pension fund adviser, Hart Advisors of Connecticut. At the time of the closing, the price was the highest ever per square foot in the Southeast U.S. The reason for the high price, according to news reports, was the building’s beauty, waterside perch and solid leases.

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