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Real Estate

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James M. Rishwain, Jr.
Chair Emeritus, Los Angeles
T: +1.213.488.7111
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Areas of Focus

Throughout the United States and worldwide, Pillsbury Real Estate lawyers advise market-leading clients on transactions and development projects of every kind involving all asset classes.

Offering in-depth market knowledge, and a coast-to-coast U.S. presence with a global reach, Pillsbury is one of the few firms with the size and geographic footprint to handle the full range of real estate assignments from multijurisdictional portfolio transactions to single-asset deals in local markets. As needed for specific projects, our Real Estate lawyers build teams to include our firm’s finance, REIT, fund formation, construction, project finance, litigation, insurance advisory, tax, environmental, labor and employment, and bankruptcy practice lawyers to ensure comprehensive, streamlined service. Beyond handling complex transactions and advising on development projects, we are highly experienced in public-private partnerships and a leader in design and construction projects and real estate litigation.

  Access our insights: A dedicated Pillsbury task force is closely tracking the evolution of anti-money laundering and corporate transparency legislation, including new beneficial ownership disclosure requirements.

Our lawyers work closely with clients to understand their goals and business needs. We anticipate issues, overcome hurdles, minimize costs and risks, and expedite permits and approvals to close deals efficiently. Our clients rely on our decades of experience and impressive record for creative, effective representation.

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Experienced in all aspects of real estate law, our team takes a 360-degree view of every deal, evaluating how it should be structured, financed, entitled, developed, operated and divested. We possess long experience in the most environmentally regulated U.S. states, in financial markets, and key regions worldwide, strongly positioning us to help clients overcome challenges and close deals. Our experience includes:

  • Financing representing lenders and borrowers
  • Acquisitions and dispositions
  • Development, including design and construction contracts
  • Joint Ventures, commingled funds, and real estate investment trusts (REIT) formation, operation and investment
  • International real estate—outbound and inbound investment
  • Ground lease, net lease and space lease transactions for landlords and tenants
  • Hotels, resorts and hospitality-related projects
  • Tax-advantaged investment and housing finance
  • Public-private partnerships
  • Distressed real estate, including bankruptcy, insolvency and reorganization
  • Loan modification, workouts and restructurings
  • Transfers in lieu of foreclosures
  • Land use, zoning and permitting
  • Construction counseling and dispute resolution
  • Environmental issues and compliance
  • Insurance advice, indemnification and dispute resolution
  • Operations and management issues
  • Litigation

We are also experienced in regulatory issues relating to real estate, including:

  • CFIUS
  • The newly enacted Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and other disclosure requirements

Our Real Estate practice is an active participant in a wider Real Estate and Construction Industry Team—a comprehensive cross-disciplinary team with broad and in-depth experience in a broad array of industry sectors.

Representative Experience

  • Acquisitions and Dispositions
    • Represented joint venture between Commonwealth Partners and a major pension fund in its purchase of 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY, for approximately $2 billion and, concurrently, in obtaining $1 billion in financing.
    • Represented Crescent Real Estate Holdings in $1 billion simultaneous sale of the Houston, Texas, Greenway Plaza office complex and a 40-story office tower at 777 Main in Fort Worth, Texas.
    • Handled Irvine Co.’s acquisition of six downtown San Diego Class A office buildings, totaling over 2.7 million square feet of space.

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  • Represented investment group from China in $360 million acquisition of 5,000-unit, multifamily real estate project located in Texas and Maryland through multi-tranche CMBS debt restructure in prior owner’s bankruptcy case.
  • Representing Swedish public company in four office development projects in Manhattan.
  • Development Projects
    • Advised Canadian developer in acquisition, financing and development of the world’s largest retail, entertainment, amusement, recreation and tourism project, the $3.7 billion American Dream complex in New Jersey’s Meadowlands.
    • Represented joint venture in its $108 million acquisition and financing of the tech campus that houses the Apple Beats headquarters in Culver City, Calif. (“Silicon Beach”).
  • Land Use, Zoning and Permitting
    • Represented client regarding its land use entitlement of a 900-foot-tall, mixed-use office/residential/hotel tower in San Francisco’s proposed Transbay Terminal District.
    • Represented Carpenter & Co., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, and St. Regis Museum Tower regarding entitlement, development, and construction of $350 million, 40-story, mixed-use hotel/residential condominium high-rise development in San Francisco.
  • Financing for Lenders and Borrowers
    • Represented sovereign wealth fund in a $1 billion+ mezzanine loan financing of a portfolio of U.S. properties.
    • Represented Hoffman-Struever Waterfront LLC on its $800 million refinancing of Phase 1 District Wharf and $847 million construction loan refinancing for Phase 2 District Wharf.
    • Acted for investment bank in the origination of $1.4 billion bridge loan financing to a private real estate investment firm, for acquisitions throughout the United States.
    • Represented Prima Mortgage Investment Trust LLC as a co-lender advancing more than $100 million of a $200 million acquisition loan used to finance the purchase of DreamWorks Animation’s headquarters and campus in Glendale, Calif.
    • Represented Shorenstein in its $1 billion recapitalization of 555 California Street, which involved a mortgage and five mezzanine loans totaling $750 million.
    • Assisted major private equity fund in pursuing acquisitions of loan portfolios from the FDIC and other federal financial regulatory agencies.
    • Represented AEGON USA Real Estate Advisors, BNY Mellon, Bank of the West, Citibank, and other large financial institutions regarding real estate single-asset and portfolio mortgage and mezzanine loans.
    • Represented Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, General Electric Credit Corp., Goldman Sachs, PNC Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank regarding real estate single-asset mortgage, mezzanine, and portfolio loans.
  • Leasing
    • Acted for Fifth Street Properties in the leasing of its 435,000-square-foot, twin-tower office project in San Diego.
    • Handled retail client’s negotiation and closing of 770,000-square-foot, build-to-suit lease transaction for a Reno, Nev., distribution center, revolving credit, tenant build-out, and site due diligence issues.
    • Represented processed foods manufacturer and marketer in negotiating a 10-year lease for 153,000-square-foot San Francisco headquarters to centralize operations. Handled tenant improvement agreement, interior architect contract, and company’s lease-related SEC filings.
  • Hotels & Resorts
    • Represented investor groups in acquisition, sale, joint venture and financing of hotel acquisitions in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Atlanta, Bermuda, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Memphis, New Orleans, Houston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and the Bahamas.
    • Represented nontraditional lender in the financing of hotel loans secured by full-service hotels throughout the United States, including ground lease and construction financing.
    • Represented a public real estate company in connection with the joint venture for the development of a “1” Hotel and Pierhouse Residential Condominium at Brooklyn Bridge Park, including negotiation of related hotel operating agreement, technical servicesagreement, and ancillary documents to facilitate OPCO/PROPCO structure.
    • Represented developer in the development and ground-up construction of a hotel and retail project at Battery Park City (in lower Manhattan), including construction and permanent loans for both the hotel and retail portions of the project, joint venture agreements, hotel management agreements, ground lease documentation and creation of a commercial condominium.
  • Distressed Assets, Workouts, and Restructurings
    • Advised the bank acquirer of an extensive portfolio of government-supported multifamily housing assets in New York, including restructuring tiered partnerships, subsidies, debt, and management activities.
    • Advised aenior lienholder bank regarding the distressed sale of 28 agricultural properties and ranches (in multiple states) under bankruptcy court supervision. Obtained bankruptcy court approval to negotiate and coordinate sales with debtor.
    • Handled PurEnergy’s $320 million debt restructuring as it took over the 440-megawatt, coal-fired Red Hills Generation Facility, located in Choctaw County, Miss.
    • Assisted investment bank in restructuring $3.5 billion of bridge, mortgage and mezzanine loans on retail shopping centers throughout the United States.
    • Represented sovereign wealth fund in a $1 billion+ mezzanine loan financing of a portfolio of U.S. properties.
    • Represented Prima Mortgage Investment Trust LLC as a co-lender advancing more than $100 million of a $200 million acquisition loan used to finance the purchase of DreamWorks Animation’s headquarters and campus in Glendale, Calif.
    • Represented Hoffman-Struever Waterfront LLC on its $800 million refinancing of Phase 1 District Wharf and $847 million construction loan refinancing for Phase 2 District Wharf.

Practice Area Highlights

  • The Legal 500 U.S. ranked Pillsbury as a national leader in the areas of Real Estate (2017 – 2025), Real Estate Finance (2022 – 2025) and Construction (2017 – 2025).
  • Reflecting the firm’s nationwide capabilities, Pillsbury is recognized by Chambers USA for Real Estate in Northern California (2021 – 2025), Southern California (2022 – 2025) and Northern Virginia (2011 – 2025).
  • Best Lawyers ranked Pillsbury’s Real Estate practice a National Tier 1 firm (2022 – 2025).

Resources

Factsheet

Real Estate

Video Series

Swimming Lessons–Surviving and Navigating the Choppy Waters of Distressed Real Estate

INSOLVENCY ISSUES IN REAL ESTATE

Pillsbury insights on insolvency-related solutions, obstacles and precedents.

Blog

Gravel2Gavel - Construction & Real Estate Law

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