Commercial
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May 10, 2024
Boston's Industrial Market Seeing Vacancies Rise
The vacancy rate of metropolitan Boston's industrial sector rose to 9.8% in 2024's first quarter, which is four percentage points higher than the rate seen at the end of 2021, Colliers reported Friday.
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May 10, 2024
Disney World's Lone Independent Resort Gets $734M Refi
JLL's hotels and hospitality group said Friday that it had arranged a $735 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan to refinance the Walt Disney Co.'s Swan & Dolphin resort, a 2,619-key property adjacent to theme parks in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
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May 10, 2024
Activist Blasts REIT Buybacks, Hotel Sale During Proxy Fight
Activist investor Blackwells Capital LLC has sharply criticized a plan by Braemar Hotels & Resorts to sell a California hotel for $165 million and use part of the proceeds for share buybacks as Blackwells is pressuring shareholders to shake up the board of the real estate investment trust at an upcoming meeting.
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May 10, 2024
Ex-Wife's Deal With Dallas CRE Firm Ends Kickback Claims
The former wife of Dallas commercial real estate executive Clifford Fischer has agreed to drop a federal lawsuit accusing Fischer and members of an advisory board to his company of running a scheme to pay themselves unspecified millions in illegal kickbacks for business referrals.
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May 10, 2024
NY Judge Won't Toss Lender's Win In 3M Campus Suit
A New York federal judge refused to reconsider a lender's victory over a loan guarantor who allegedly owed payments for a $64 million loan related to 3M's now-foreclosed Austin, Texas, campus, but found the billing too high when determining attorney fees.
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May 10, 2024
3 Takeaways From The Real Deal's New York City Forum
Industry professionals at The Real Deal's New York City Real Estate Forum this year aired a lot of grievances about housing and development policies in the Big Apple and Empire State, though panels also touched on a major problem facing lenders.
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May 10, 2024
Simpson Thacher, Sheppard Mullin Guide $246M NYC Deal
Blackstone affiliates offloaded 21 properties surrounding New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Terreno Realty Corp. in a $246 million deal guided by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.
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May 10, 2024
3 Firms Advise On $250M Great Wolf Waterpark Financing
VICI Properties Inc. said Friday it has originated a $250 million mezzanine loan as part of $1.5 billion in financing to waterpark operator Great Wolf Resorts Inc., in a transaction advised by Hogan Lovells, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.
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May 09, 2024
10th Circ. Appeal May Expand Pollution Coverage In NM
The Tenth Circuit will hear oral arguments May 20 to determine whether absolute pollution exclusions doom a New Mexico property owner's quest for $120,000 in defense coverage in a case attorneys say could determine the future of such environmental coverage in the state.
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May 09, 2024
Vinson-Led EnCap Lands $1.5B For Energy Transition Fund
Vinson & Elkins LLP advised EnCap Investments LP on a $1.5 billion fund that seeks to invest in projects meant to decarbonize the power industry, as well as in low-carbon fuels and other green ventures.
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May 09, 2024
NY Appeals Court Says Parking Garage Is Rent-Stabilized
A New York state appeals court on May 9 upheld a housing agency's decision finding that a parking garage in a building in the Bronx borough of New York City is rent-stabilized.
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May 09, 2024
NY Panel Backs Landlord's Win In Sonder Legionella Case
A New York appeals court on May 9 mostly upheld a New York City landlord's victory against hospitality company Sonder in a dispute over unpaid rent at a luxury Manhattan apartment building following a Legionella outbreak.
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May 09, 2024
CBRE Reports CRE Investment Decline Slowed In Q1
U.S. commercial real estate investment volume fell less quickly in the first quarter of 2024 than it did at the end of 2023, according to a CBRE report.
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May 09, 2024
TPG Lands Nearly $8B Across 3 Asia-Focused Funds
Private equity giant TPG, advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, has closed three Asia-focused funds after securing a combined total of nearly $8 billion from investors.
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May 09, 2024
Judge Mulls Twitter's Rent Intent In Colo. Eviction Fight
A Colorado state judge asked a Boulder landlord Thursday why Twitter's intent mattered when it stopped paying rent after being acquired by Elon Musk, as the landlord fights for access to records to rebut the social media company's wrongful eviction claims.
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May 09, 2024
Ore. Tax Court Drops Valuation Of Mobile Home Park
An Oregon mobile home park should be reduced in value from $2.3 million to $1.7 million because an income analysis presented by the owners reflected the property's real market value better than a local assessor's method, the state's tax court said.
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May 09, 2024
Colo. Lawmakers Approve Extended Property Tax Cuts
Colorado would extend its current temporary property tax rate reductions into 2024 and would lower tax rates for future years under legislation passed by Colorado lawmakers that could save property owners about $1 billion in its first year.
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May 09, 2024
Solar Co., Michigan Town Agree To End Zoning Dispute
A solar energy company has agreed to drop its federal lawsuit accusing a Michigan township of imposing an illegal six-month zoning moratorium against solar projects.
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May 09, 2024
Hospital REIT Sees $736M Loss After Tenant's Ch. 11 Filing
Medical Properties Trust, a healthcare real estate investment trust, lost $736 million in the first quarter of the year from the financial collapse of Steward Health Care, a major tenant, and the write-off of an international joint venture, executives said on May 9.
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May 09, 2024
Treasury's Energy Tax Credit Regs Leave Room For 'Chaining'
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has said it is prohibiting the practice known as chaining that links two new ways to monetize clean energy tax credits, but recent final rules governing the two methods left the door open to possible exceptions.
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May 09, 2024
NFL Player-Turned-Atty Can't Appeal After Contempt Deal
An appeal of a contempt-of-court order by NFL-player-turned-lawyer Walter Bernard is moot because the underlying dispute over unpaid rent has been settled and Bernard has been released from jail, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled.
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May 09, 2024
GE Dropped From Louisiana Factory Contamination Suit
A Louisiana federal judge has dropped General Electric from property owners' suit alleging widespread contamination caused by a now-closed manufacturing facility, finding an earlier merger by a subsidiary did not make the company a liable successor.
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May 09, 2024
Designer, Hotelier Sued For Allegedly Duping EB-5 Investors
Chinese investors in a luxury California hotel for green cards lodged a potential class action Thursday against a prominent interior designer and her hotelier husband for allegedly duping backers into believing Marriott would manage the hotel.
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May 09, 2024
Nossaman Scores New Land Use Partner For Seattle Office
Nossaman LLP announced it has hired an attorney with experience advising and defending clients in environmental matters as a partner for its environment and land use team in the firm's Seattle office.
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May 09, 2024
DLA Piper CRE Survey Finds Optimism Despite High Rates
A DLA Piper survey of commercial real estate professionals found that more are optimistic about the market this year than they were last year, although more than half are still bearish on the industry amid persistently high interest rates.
Expert Analysis
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Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer
After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.
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Adjusting Deals To Reflect Shifts In The CRE Market
As the commercial real estate market strengthens and moves out from a challenging time, industry participants should consider any concessions made due to recent trends and update transaction documents accordingly before entering into new deals, says Alexander Davis at Mayer Brown.
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4 International Arbitration Trends To Monitor In 2024
Global growth slowed substantially in 2023, and may continue into 2024 due to geopolitical instability, which could fuel four key trends in international arbitration in the coming year, including investor-state and commercial arbitration, an increase in arbitration out of China, and more, say Gregory Litt and Sharmistha Chakrabarti at Skadden.
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How DOI Aims To Modernize Resource Damage Assessments
The U.S. Department of the Interior's recent proposal to redesign its Type A rule for conducting natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities could lead to a more streamlined, flexible assessment process that would benefit both natural resource trustees and potentially responsible parties, says Brian Ferrasci-O'Malley at Nossaman.
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Key Issues When Navigating A Tenant's Bankruptcy
In light of recent Chapter 11 filings by Rite Aid and WeWork — companies with thousands of commercial leases — practitioners should review issues that can arise when bankruptcy is used to exit a lease, including the consequences of lease rejection and the statutory cap on landlord damage claims for a rejected lease, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security
In 2024, expect the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, already at the forefront of addressing national security threats, to increase monitoring and enforcement related to outbound investment, focus on supply chain resilience in nondefense sectors, and heighten oversight of agricultural transactions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Sale-Leasebacks May Provide A Safe Financing Alternative
Amid rising interest rates and unpredictable market conditions, sale-leasebacks can be a useful investment option for both buyers and sellers, though their potential drawbacks demand careful consideration, says Chanel Di Blasi at Crosbie Gliner.
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5 Recent Developments Family Offices Are Watching In 2024
Although family offices have long been exempt from many of the more onerous regulations and reporting requirements governing U.S. investment advisers and asset managers, recent amendments to federal rules will have an impact on how family offices invest and operate in 2024, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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A Challenging CRE Environment Holds Opportunities In 2024
As the commercial real estate market faces reduced occupancy levels and rising financing costs, the new landscape will be favorable to those who can leverage capital, strategic vision and expertise to meet challenges like taking on distressed properties and converting office space to residential use, say Nesa Amamoo and Vered Rabia at Skadden.
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What The 2023 Bank Failures Taught Us, And What's To Come
As 2023 draws to a close, it's apparent that the bank failures this past spring sparked a seismic shift in the regulatory and supervisory landscape for banking organizations, and the consequences are still continuing to be felt throughout the financial sector as we head into 2024, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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A Difficult Year For CRE, But Future May Be Brighter
2023 was a challenging year for the commercial real estate industry, marked by significant uncertainty, but market pressure and signs of rising interest rates provide some reasons to be cautiously optimistic for the year ahead as pandemic headwinds and gridlock fade away, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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3 Developments That Will Affect Hospitality Companies In 2024
As the hospitality industry continues its post-pandemic recovery, it faces both challenges and opportunities to thrive in 2024, including navigating new labor rules, developing branded residential living spaces and cautiously embracing artificial intelligence, says Lauren Stewart at Sheppard Mullin.
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What WeWork's Ch. 11 Filing Means For Landlords
WeWork’s recent Chapter 11 filing in New Jersey has the potential to be one of the most consequential cases in the real estate industry in many years, and presents a number of issues for landlords, including unexpired leases, assumption, assignment and more, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.