Woods Oviatt Gilman

Legendary American entrepreneur Marshall Field said, “Buying real estate is not only the best way, the quickest way, the safest way, but the only way to become wealthy.” Note that he did not say “the easiest way.”

Real Estate is complex and requires intricate knowledge of a variety of areas and disciplines. At Woods Oviatt Gilman, our experienced Real Estate attorneys excel at representing clients from virtually every area of the industry and across many parts of the country, including real estate investment trusts, companies that develop property from the ground up, companies acquiring older properties in urban areas that qualify for historic tax credits, and organizations that acquire specific types of real estate—including low income, affordable housing, tax credit-type real estate, or market rate multifamily. The Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Group has extensive experience in representing and advising public and private REITs as they navigate through complex corporate, securities, tax, real estate, and bankruptcy law issues.

Our Real Estate team provides trusted counsel from the start of a project to its completion and is experienced in all phases of commercial and residential real estate, including acquisitions and sales, financing, leasing, land-use planning, environmental matters, tax, and opportunity zones.

To find out more about our Real Estate team and its offerings, contact W. Stephen Tierney.

Examples of Representative Matters:

Represented a developer in the acquisition, development and financing of a 39-unit affordable housing development involving the adaptive re-use of a former elementary school located in Hornell, New York, financed in part by 9% federal and New York State LIHTC, HCR Housing Trust Fund subsidy, and NYSERDA grant funds.

Represented a joint venture of two developers in the acquisition, development and financing of a 42-unit new construction affordable housing development in Ithaca, New York financed in part by 9% federal LIHTC, HCR Housing Trust Fund subsidy, Tompkins County Community Housing Development Fund grant funds, and NYSERDA grant funds.
Represented the developers of a 70-unit new construction affordable housing development located in Hamburg, New York. Structured, negotiated and closed the project's financing package comprised of 9% federal and New York State LIHTC equity, senior construction loan, Erie County HOME loan, and HTFC loans.
Represented the developer of a 33-unit new construction affordable housing development located in Baldwin, New York. Structured, negotiated and closed the project's financing package comprised of 9% federal and New York State LIHTC, an IDA lease-leaseback, senior construction loan, Nassau County HOME loan, HCR Housing Trust Fund subsidy, and Downtown Revitalization Initiative funds.
Represented a developer in the acquisition, rehabilitation and financing of an 87-unit affordable housing development located in Lexington, North Carolina financed in part by tax-exempt bonds, 4% LIHTC, a HUD 221(d)(4) loan, and a HAP contract.
Represented a developer in the acquisition, rehabilitation and financing of a 100-unit affordable housing development in Selma, North Carolina financed in part by tax-exempt bonds, 4% federal LIHTC, and a 20-year Mark-Up-To-Market Project-Based Section 8 HAP Contract.
Represented a developer in the acquisition, rehabilitation and financing of an 88-unit affordable housing development in Chattahoochee, Florida financed in part by tax-exempt bonds, 4% federal LIHTC, and a 20-year Mark-Up-To-Market Project-Based Section 8 HAP Contract.
Represented owner in acquisition and financing of multi-family housing portfolio containing over 1,000 units with separate self-storage and office; financed through regional lender bridge loan, taken out with permanent loan with Freddie Mac (non-recourse financing).
Represented owner in acquisition and financing of multi-family housing portfolio containing over 1,100 units across multiple states, financed with national DUS lender as a portfolio bridge loan, bridging to HUD permanent financing (non-recourse financing) once tax credits for improvements are approved.
Represented owner in obtaining $50M construction financing for condominium/hotel project in the Upstate New York Finger Lakes Region.
Represented owner in all aspects of development of national brand hotel project, including preparation and negotiation of purchase and sale agreement, franchise agreement, obtaining of entitlements, obtaining of local industrial development agency benefits, obtaining of construction and permanent loan financing, and negotiation of AIA construction documents.
Represented owner in sale of $300M Upstate and Central New York multi-family housing portfolio.
Tenant representation in negotiation and execution of lease for design/build of over 250,000 square feet of office/flex space.
Bond counsel for municipality.
Representation of regional lenders in real estate and asset-based transactions involving construction/permanent mortgage loans, mezzanine, subordinate, acquisition and bond financing.
Represented buyer in 11 mobile home park portfolio acquisition in Western New York and surrounding areas.
Represented national mobile home park owners in connection with several multi-state acquisitions and CMBS financing.
Represented buyer in multi-million dollar acquisition and mortgage financing of shopping center.
Represented owner/developer in connection with multi-million dollar acquisition and IDA financing of office/retail building.
Represented owner in multi-million dollar CMBS refinancing of 5 apartment complexes in Watertown, New York.