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Capabilities / Real Estate Finance

Real Estate Finance

Local knowledge with national reach.

Husch Blackwell’s real estate finance law team integrates lending experience and relationships that are national in scope with on-the-ground knowledge of real estate. We provide lenders and borrowers with comprehensive legal counsel that addresses all phases of real estate debt financing, including acquisition and development, construction, bridge, mezzanine, term, and syndicated loans. Additionally, our real estate financing law work covers all asset types, including:

  • Multifamily real estate
  • Retail real estate
  • Industrial real estate
  • Office real estate
  • Mixed-use developments
  • Healthcare real estate
  • Self storage
  • Manufactured housing
  • Land
  • Hospitality and resorts

Our real estate finance law team has extensive experience in providing guidance and advice to clients that include leading global, national, and regional banks; life insurance companies; public and private real estate investment trusts (REITs); private equity funds; investors; and developers. We leverage our network of lending and real estate relationships - and our deep understanding of our clients’ business operations - to provide practical, real-world advice, which manages costs, mitigates risk, and achieves our clients’ business objectives. Our real estate finance team works closely with our real estate, corporate, environmental, and tax credit practice groups, and we are capable of addressing every real estate–related challenge, from land use and environmental issues to commercial condominiums and complex joint ventures, as well as integrating tax incentive financing into projects.

Additionally, given the breadth of our geographic footprint, our team frequently serves as local counsel for lenders and borrowers throughout the Midwest, West, and Mid-South. In this role, our lawyers represent borrowers and lenders in providing opinion letters and local law advice regarding real estate–related transactions, as well as practical guidance in navigating the unique real estate lending practices of each jurisdiction.

Representative Experience

  • Represented a developer in the acquisition, financing, and leasing of property to a national defense contracting firm. This included the construction, which was completed summer 2020, as well as assisting with private placement memorandum and equity raise.
  • Represented the developer in the acquisition, financing, and leasing of 84South in Greenfield, Wisconsin, to Aurora Health Center for a large medical office building.
  • Represented the developer in the financing and acquisition of West Allis, WI properties. Involved negotiations with one private seller and one school district, relocating multiple tenants, entering into new leases, negotiations with the city over a public park, Opportunity Zones, and New Market Tax Credit Financing. Also involved negotiating multiple mixed-use components including a hotel, event space, and retail, in addition to new tenant leasing.
  • Represented water technology provider in the negotiation of a build-to-suit lease with construction financing baked in, providing client leverage to get project completed.
  • Represented self-storage REIT in a refinancing of a portfolio of self-storage properties in California by a life insurance company, addressing complicated California tax issues. Negotiated a structure that was acceptable to all parties, avoided additional taxation and helped client acquire additional self-storage assets.
  • Completed an investment real estate restructuring to turn real estate management company into an investment real estate fund and represented client as it acquired projects, secured financing, and raised capital, assisting the company in growing from $125 million in annual revenue to $600 million in annual revenue.
  • Represented client in the redevelopment of a building for a high-speed data center for companies that rely on high-speed data transmission. Worked with the state and city to successfully requalify the site for public financing.
  • Represented European investment and asset manager in the development, construction lender financing, tax equity financing, and hedge financing of a 336 MW TG East wind project in Texas.
  • Represented European infrastructure fund as developer’s counsel for the purchase, development, hedge equity investment, and tax equity financing of 848 GW of wind and solar projects in Texas.
  • Represented developer in the development, construction lender financing, tax equity financing, and hedge financing of 872 MW of solar projects in Texas, with projects totaling more than $1.1 billion.
  • Represented leading solar and energy storage project development company as project counsel in the sale, construction, and tax equity financing of 200 MW solar project in Texas.
  • Advised St. Louis-based developer on negotiation and adoption of public financing incentives such as tax increment financing (TIF), brownfield tax credits, and other state tax credits for redevelopment of former automobile manufacturing site into more than 2 million square feet of retail, office, and industrial uses.
  • Serve as counsel to private equity fund in the commercial real estate net lease, sale-leaseback, and build-to-suit sectors that has successfully developed, acquired, financed, and disposed of more than $4 billion of commercial real estate assets.
  • Represented a historic theater in attracting and closing on financing using historic tax credits to restore a 1929 art deco masterpiece.
  • Served as investor’s counsel to community development entity placing $55 million of NMTC allocation for projects in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, including a recycled plastic pallet manufacturing facility, downtown retail/commercial development, and a manufactured home production facility.
  • Served as developer’s counsel for the financing of a hotel in a catalytic redevelopment area of Wisconsin worth $21 million, including Opportunity Zone financing and municipal involvement.
  • Represented developer in a $32 million NMTC transaction that also included PACE financing and state and federal historic tax credits in a catalytic project for the city.
  • Represented bank in the documentation and closing of a $37 million construction loan for the development of a 30-acre, 292-unit Class A multifamily community in Florida.
  • Represented nonprofit affordable housing owner in the acquisition of six multifamily low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) properties with an aggregate purchase price of approximately $47 million.
  • Represented bank in the redevelopment of a mall in South Dallas. The debt structure is stratified, and Husch Blackwell worked on the financing of pad sites around the mall’s main footprint, which include major national retailers.
News Releases | April 06, 2022
Elizabeth Massaro Joins Husch Blackwell's Chicago Office

Elizabeth Massaro has joined Husch Blackwell’s Chicago office as a partner in its Financial Services & Capital Markets industry group.

News Releases | February 12, 2020
Husch Blackwell's Banking and Finance Group Adds Two in Wisconsin

“Growing our Wisconsin-based banking and finance team has been a priority for our firm over the past few years,” said Eric Lenzen, leader of the firm’s Financial Services & Capital Markets group.

The team is strong at adapting style to meet our needs, and is always very strong at ensuring that our needs in a transaction are covered. When dealing with challenging transactions their ability to communicate amongst their team toward effective solutions is second to none.

Chambers USA 2024