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An Unprecedented Climate for Real Estate... For several years, real estate businesses and businesses with interests in real estate have had to contend with the most challenging market of the past six decades. An extraordinary array of factors has driven clients to re-evaluate their real estate management and investment options. Among these are a severe deterioration in demand, drastically declining revenues, limited financing options and widespread uncertainty about asset and market valuations. Adding to existing pressures is the evolving regulatory landscape. Complying with - and benefitting from - recent laws that target the economy's decline, and anticipating those that may be adopted in the future, requires both knowledge and vigilance. And while opportunities exist even in challenging climates, capitalizing on them can be a mysterious and intricate process. Throughout the years, in times of economic expansion and during the inevitable downturns, clients have turned to Bilzin Sumberg's Real Estate team for help in realizing their strategic vision. We are trusted advisors to a distinguished roster of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to emerging businesses and individual entrepreneurs, in every sector of the commercial real estate industry: hotels and resorts, mixed-use projects, condominiums, office buildings, retail centers, industrial facilities, apartment buildings, residential communities, marinas, entertainment facilities, sports arenas and golf courses. Our reputation as a go-to law firm for the spectrum of real estate issues is echoed by publications such as Chambers USA, which regularly ranks Bilzin Sumberg in the first tier of real estate and land use firms. Our substantial experience at every stage of the real estate asset cycle continues to make us a firm of choice for solving clients' most difficult issues as well as for addressing their day-to-day concerns. CREATING VALUE FOR OUR CLIENTS The longevity of our client relationships is one of our firm's most valued assets. When we ask our clients why they choose Bilzin Sumberg's Real Estate team, these factors stand out: Commanding Expertise The prodigious number of deals we have handled and the complexity of the matters on which we work attest to the depth of our expertise, the breadth of our representations and the quality of our work. This long history of engagement in Florida’s aggressive real estate markets helps us devise creative and practical solutions that inspire our clients’ confidence. In the first quarter of 2010 alone, our Real Estate team advised clients in purchasing and restructuring thousands of distressed commercial portfolio and individual loans representing several billion dollars of principal balance. These acquisitions and restructurings covered the spectrum of real estate sectors, from hotel and retail to office and industrial. In the year preceding the recent real estate downturn, Bilzin Sumberg’s Real Estate lawyers were involved in $5.3 billion in real estate financings, $1.7 billion in construction loans, $1 billion in real estate sales and acquisitions, 1.5 million square feet of leasing, and $7.5 billion of newly originated CMBS transactions. Market-Leading Talent and Expertise Our multidisciplinary Real Estate team has comprehensive, sophisticated capabilities in these key areas: Workouts, Restructurings, & Distressed Property Our lawyers honed their expertise concerning distressed real estate advising key players in the monumental restructurings of real estate in the early 1990s. Our considerable experience representing the largest special servicer of securitized commercial loans in the U.S., along with developers, major homebuilders and other key players in the real estate market in and outside Florida, gives us a unique understanding of the issues surrounding distressed property. We regularly advise lenders, owners, developers and opportunity purchasers on every possible solution to distressed property. We counsel clients concerning distressed projects, workouts, restructurings, foreclosures, deeds in lieu of foreclosure transactions and receiverships. These workouts and restructurings often involve portfolios and individual significant properties throughout the U.S. Purchase and Sale of Assets and Debt Our lawyers routinely work with clients in the purchase and sale of commercial real estate and real estate-related debt. We have served as counsel in the acquisition or disposition of numerous real estate and debt portfolios, including several transactions valued in excess of $1 billion. Financing We regularly represent borrowers, lenders and servicers in real estate-based commercial financing transactions, including conventional mortgage loans, mezzanine and equity financing, construction financing, complex loan structuring, refinancings, loan assumptions, commercial mortgage-backed securities, real estate mortgage investment conduits and implementation of securitization and servicing programs. We have particular expertise in highly complex multi-tiered and multi-state financing transactions. Real Estate Development and Construction We advise clients in the full range of legal services for developing, building and redeveloping real estate projects. These include entity structuring; land acquisition; financing and equity investment; tax planning; land use consequences; contracts with architects, engineers, general contractors and other professionals; community development district advice; and end sales or leases of the finished product. Hotels We have substantial experience representing clients in the hospitality industry, including the acquisition of hotels of all classes and hotel portfolios, hotel development and hotel management. Our lawyers also have significant experience in the financing of hotels and hotel loan restructurings, as well as the servicing of CMBS loans for the industry. We have advised clients for hospitality projects across the U.S. and in the Caribbean. Condominiums and Condo/Hotels We have a long history representing owners, investors, developers and lenders in every aspect of condominium and condo/hotel development, including Florida and Federal law compliance. Our lawyers have substantial experience in creating condominium regimes, the acquisition of fractured condominiums, financing of unit inventory, developer-to-owner turnover of associations and developer closings of units. Marina and Water Rights We assist owners, investors and developers in the marina industry in virtually every aspect of their business. Our experience includes acquisition, financing, development, leasing and disposition, and our attorneys were at the forefront of "condominiumizing" or "dockominiumizing" marina slips. We also have represented lenders in connection with financing for marinas. Leasing We represent both landlords and tenants in leasing office and retail space, industrial properties and specialty properties such as spas, restaurants and other amenities for mixed-use projects, as well as ground lease scenarios.
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