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Anderson Kill offers the skill and broad expertise to deliver an extensive
array of real estate legal services across the United States.
Our Real Estate
and Construction
Practice is an experienced cross-section of dynamic attorneys who work together
to provide our clients with refined legal counsel required for a host of complex
real estate and development-related issues. We represent small, medium and
large-sized developers, lenders, financial services companies and investors with
our transactional and legal advisory services that leverage the firm's dispute
resolution and real estate and construction litigation experts. Transactional
services include acquisitions, dispositions, construction, land use and
financing of commercial, industrial, residential and retail projects.
We
also handle restructurings, reorganizations and workouts for clients both inside
and outside of bankruptcy for lenders, leaseholders, and borrowers.
Why Anderson Kill?
Since our real estate attorneys work closely together on a variety of matters
and transactions, they are able to share information that enables a client
service engagement that is informed and efficient. Real estate law is unique in
that it transcends one particular practice area. Anderson Kill brings together
an expansive array of real estate legal services under one roof to deliver
comprehensive solutions.
The Real Estate and Construction Practice provides legal services in the following areas:
Financing
Anderson Kill represents clients on both sides of
finance activities—lending and borrowing—for office buildings, shopping centers,
industrial properties, multifamily rental projects, hotels, cooperatives and
condominiums, golf courses, medical and hospital facilities, nursing homes and
assisted-living facilities situated throughout the United States. We have also
been involved in structuring creative forms of financing methods, such as
shared-appreciation mortgages, complex participation arrangements and tax-exempt
debt financings. Our legal team routinely handles legal aspects of the following
types of financings:
 |
permanent and interim loans (including
loans to be securitized) |
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construction loans |
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mezzanine loans |
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preferred equity financings |
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tax-exempt financings |
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revolving-credit financings |
|
loans backed by credit leases |
|
various types of syndications and other
capital market transactions |
For more information on our practice, please contact:
Joseph Bulian,
(212) 278-1139 or
jbulian@andersonkill.com
Thomas R.
Petty, (202) 416-6541 or
tpetty@andersonkill.com
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Acquisitions and
Dispositions
Our attorneys represent a variety
of owners, investors and developers in the acquisition, sale, exchange and
development of office buildings, shopping centers, industrial properties,
multifamily properties, hotels, condominium and cooperative projects and
conversions and other commercial properties across the country. As a
comprehensive practice, we prepare and negotiate limited liability company
agreements, partnership agreements, property management agreements, development
agreements and asset management agreements, and advise our clients of the most
advantageous ways to structure their transactions. We also represent
institutional investors and lenders in the acquisition of loan portfolios and
REO properties in anticipation of restructuring, selling, foreclosing and/or
re-tendering the assets acquired.
For more information on our practice, please contact:
Joseph Bulian,
(212) 278-1139 or
jbulian@andersonkill.com
Thomas R.
Petty, (202) 416-6541 or
tpetty@andersonkill.com
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Workouts and Restructuring
Anderson
Kill represents a broad range of financial institutions, institutional
investors, debt investors, finance companies, owners and developers in real
estate workouts, restructurings and foreclosures, both in and out of bankruptcy.
The firm’s real estate, bankruptcy, tax, environmental and litigation attorneys
work closely together to advise our lending clients and other real estate
investors in dealing with troubled and defaulted loans and distressed real
estate (including REO properties), and in acquiring, restructuring and
foreclosing real estate loans and in leasing and selling acquired properties.
Our attorneys also routinely counsel clients in traditional areas of bankruptcy
practice, including preferences and fraudulent conveyances, reorganizations,
debtor-in-possession and exit financings and liquidations, receiverships,
treatment of executory contracts and leases, and Section 363 auctions. In
matters where litigation is necessary to resolve debt and related problems, we
offer responsive and effective service at all levels, including alternative
dispute resolution, prejudgment remedies, trial and appellate.
For more information on our practice, please contact:
Joseph Bulian,
(212) 278-1139 or
jbulian@andersonkill.com
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State and Local Tax and
Finance Benefit Program
Anderson Kill has
extensive experience in dealing with various government agencies of the State
and City of New York with respect to obtaining public benefits in connection
with our clients’ commercial real estate needs. These benefits include real
estate tax abatements, mortgage recording tax abatements, tax free municipal
bond financing, sales tax exemptions, and loans backed by various local and
state government agencies which are obtained under the Industrial and Commercial
Incentive Programs, the local Industrial Development Agency, and various other
governmental agencies.
For more information on our practice, please contact:
Thomas A.
Neufeld, (212) 278-1840 or
tneufeld@andersonkill.com
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Land Use and Zoning
The use and development of land
and buildings in New York City and throughout the United States, are governed by a bewildering array of laws,
including the Zoning Resolution (800+ pages), Landmarks Law and Building Code,
and environmental review procedures. Our land use and zoning practice
complements the firm’s real estate law practice with unique expertise in this
niche area of land use law. Anderson Kill is one of the few firms in the city
which has a land use practice. Our clients include for-profit and not-for-profit
developers, health care institutions, academic institutions and law firms. We
represent clients before the City Planning Commission, Landmarks Preservation
Commission, Board of Standards and Appeals, and City Council, and city agencies
such as the Departments of Buildings, Environmental Protection, Transportation
and Housing Preservation and Development, and the New York City Economic
Development Corporation.
Some of the areas in which we
have assisted clients include:
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City Planning Commission
approvals |
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Advice to other law firms
regarding transfers of development rights |
|
Evaluations of
development potential for sites around the city |
Representative Transactions
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Represent cooperative board
in dispute with cooperator over proposed use in building
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City Planning Commission
approvals for several nursing home expansions and renovations
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City Planning approvals for
major mixed/use development on behalf of public agency
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City Planning Commission
approvals for development of residential development project on 25-acre
site
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Advice to major owner of
self-storage facilities regarding development potential on site subject
to previous City Planning Commission approvals
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Represent commercial
property owners regarding various issues associated with property
ownership in New York City
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Represented hotel owner in
City Planning Commission approval of redesign of plaza space that
generated zoning bonus
For more information on our practice, please contact:
Robert S.
Cook, Jr., (212) 278-1203 or
rcook@andersonkill.com
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Commercial Leasing
Anderson Kill’s commercial
leasing work involves representation of both landlords and tenants in New York,
Washington
and throughout the United States. Such work includes urban office and retail
leasing, leasing of commercial and industrial facilities, and shopping center
leasing. We also advise investors, developers and agents with respect to the
operation of the subject properties, and frequently assist in structuring
agreements for the management and leasing of large commercial and multiunit
residential developments.
For more information on our practice, please contact:
Joseph Bulian,
(212) 278-1139 or
jbulian@andersonkill.com
Thomas R.
Petty, (202) 416-6541 or
tpetty@andersonkill.com
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Construction, Development and Planning
The firm offers a broad range of services to
clients contemplating construction projects. We represent real estate
developers, investors and lenders in numerous development projects. Hospitals,
schools, water treatment plants and combined use structures incorporating
residential and office towers are among the many construction projects with
which the firm has had considerable experience.
Development of mixed use projects utilizing air rights in urban settings is a
strength of the firm. We have negotiated and drafted long term ground leases
and development agreements to bring these projects from concept to reality.
We offer assistance to not-for-profit organizations as they seek to develop or
fit out facilities to meet their mission requirements. We bring practical
insights into the programming, construction, and tax exempt concerns of
hospitals, schools and charities because of our decades of experiences providing
real estate services.
Some of the areas in which we have assisted clients include:
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Negotiation, drafting and amendment of
numerous lump sum and variable price construction, construction
management and architectural contracts, ranging from developments
costing in excess of $500 million to smaller retrofit projects |
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Electric
transformer vault agreements |
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Mechanic
lien and release procedures |
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Owner’s
representative agreements to oversee multiple construction phases |
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Retainage
release issues |
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Asbestos
and other hazardous waste removal programs |
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Advance
payment procedures |
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Demolition contracts |
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Trade
contractors’ bankruptcies |
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Specific issues related to demolition,
renovation and construction of infrastructure components, such as
tunnels and bridges in franchised and de-mapped space |
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Payment
workouts, including constructive trust issues |
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Design
errors and omissions |
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Special
permit issues |
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Delay
claims negotiation |
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Bidder
prequalification procedures |
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Change
order negotiations, including scope disputes |
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Relocation planning |
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Property
damage claims |
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Construction coordination between adjoining
landowners concerning access, party walls and protection of property |
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Warranty
issues |
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Off-site
materials and equipment storage arrangements |
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Mock-up
protocols and tests, including those affecting curtain walls
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Specialty
equipment procurement and installation agreements |
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Partial
turnover agreements |
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Closeout
procedures |
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Punchlist
administration issues |
Representative Transactions
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Represented a real estate joint venture in the
development, financing and construction of a high-rise residential apartment
building in New York City; and in the $80 million refinancing of the
acquisition and construction financing
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Represented a real estate joint venture in the
development of a $150 million condominium project in New York City
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Represented a real estate joint venture in the
refinancing of a 1.1 million square foot office complex in New York and
subsequently represented the clients in the sale of the property
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Represented a real estate joint venture in connection
with financing to fund the costs of renovation of an office building in New
York City
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Represented our client in the negotiations of a
ground lease and the financing of construction of a high-rise residential
rental property in New York’s Battery Park City
For more information on our practice, please contact:
James Cullen,
(212) 278-1565 or
jcullen@andersonkill.com
Thomas R.
Petty, (202) 416-6541 or
tpetty@andersonkill.com
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Real Estate Litigation
Anderson Kill’s real estate
litigators represent owners, developers, commercial tenants, commercial
landlords, contractors, architects and governmental agencies in real estate and
zoning disputes. Our attorneys handle all facets of litigation and have
substantial experience both conducting trials involving real estate and
construction matters and handling appeals. For a broader discussion of our
Construction Litigation, please see Construction Litigation.
We also advocate our clients' positions in non-litigation settings. We have
successfully resolved numerous disputes through mediation, arbitration and
settlement discussions. We attempt to resolve disputes without litigation and in
accordance with the overriding business purposes of our clients who also benefit
from the firm’s extensive transactional experience. When disputes cannot be
resolved informally, by settlement, or other alternative dispute resolution, we
have successfully handled multi-week court trials and arbitration hearings, and
both pre-trial and post-trial appeals.
Some of the areas in
which we have handled litigation include:
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Commercial lease disputes |
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Surrender and acceptance |
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Lease renewal
controversies and provision disputes |
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Non-payment |
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Contract disputes |
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Holdover by tenants and
sub-tenants |
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“Yellowstone” injunctions
(tolling cure periods) |
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Evaluation of property,
including government takings |
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Constructive eviction |
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Challenges to zoning
decisions |
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Warranty of habitability |
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Permitted uses under
zoning regulations |
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Mitchell-Lama |
For further
information, please contact:
John M. O’Connor,
(212) 278-1014,
joconnor@andersonkill.com.
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Go to Corporate and
Commercial Litigation
Construction
Litigation
Property owners, contractors, and
architects have all benefited from the experience and skill that Anderson Kill
attorneys bring to resolving construction disputes. In construction, the main
focus must always be on completing the job, in a timely manner, and with as few
lingering, and expensive, disputes as possible. With that focus in mind,
Anderson Kill attempts to resolve disputes without litigation and in accordance
with the overriding business purposes of its clients. Consultation between the
firm’s litigators and those Anderson Kill attorneys who have extensive
transactional experience in the pre-construction and construction phases,
provides a very valuable asset in assisting clients in resolving these disputes
without litigation.
Where construction disputes cannot be resolved informally, by settlement, or
other alternative dispute resolution. Anderson Kill attorneys have successfully
handled multi-week court trials and arbitration hearings, as well as both
pre-trial and post trial appeals, including appeals in the New York Court of
Appeals.
Our attorneys handle matters such
as:
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Defective materials used
in construction |
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Faulty design or
construction |
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Claims for “extra” work
and scope changes |
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Disputes over contract
terms |
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Claims that the work was
delayed or not timely completed |
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“Liquidation agreements” |
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Architect licensing
inquiries |
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Mechanics’ liens |
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Bond disputes |
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Casualty loss |
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Construction trust
disputes |
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Environmental Control
Board hearings |
For further
information, please contact:
John M. O’Connor,
(212) 278-1014,
joconnor@andersonkill.com.
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Insurance Coverage
Anderson Kill has extensive
experience in representing building owners, developers and contractors in
securing insurance recoveries for property losses and in securing defense and
indemnification for liability resulting from accidents and construction defects
in connection with real estate development. The firm’s insurance recovery
attorneys have represented clients seeking “first party” insurance recoveries
for losses ranging from natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the World
Trade Center attack and the invasion of Panama. The firm also has represented
builders and developers seeking defense and indemnity for liability claims
stemming from defective building materials, faulty workmanship and other causes.
Our reputation as one of the top policyholder insurance recovery firms in the
nation, combined with our experience in representing property owners, developers
and contractors, often enables us to settle real estate and construction
insurance claims prior to or in the early stages of litigation, thus maximizing
our clients’ recoveries.
For further
information, please contact:
Finley
T. Harckham, (212) 278-1543,
fharckham@andersonkill.com
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Environmental
Risk-Management Services
As a full-service law firm,
Anderson Kill provides comprehensive environmental legal and risk-management
services relating to real estate and corporate transactions, dispute resolution,
and insurance. In addition to dozens of environmental coverage trials, our
experienced attorneys regularly assist clients with a variety of routine and
complex matters involving the environmental regulatory and state and local
environmental agencies nationwide, and specialized technical expertise, and
insurance assets. The firm has considerable experience in CERCLA, RCRA and
Brownfield and Voluntary Cleanup programs and with implementing Institutional
Controls and other risk-management solutions to address lingering liabilities
and indemnification obligations. Our attorneys’ experience and technical
backgrounds provide our clients with a particular advantage when dealing with
consultants and other technical experts.
For further
information, please contact:
John G.
Nevius,
(212) 278-1508,
jnevius@andersonkill.com.
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