Jonathan S Gelman
Real Estate
Greenberg Traurig's Real Estate Practice delivers innovative, practical legal services for full-cycle real estate needs. We offer sophisticated transactional and regulatory experience complemented by significant depth in the areas of zoning, entitlements and land use planning, environmental matters, and ADA and accessibility compliance, as well as corporate and securities regulation, tax considerations and advice on management and operations.
We strive to build long-term value in our client relationships through an integrated approach to the services we offer and are well suited to counsel clients through virtually every stage of a development project or fund. Our attorneys have a wide range of experience in acquisitions and joint ventures and often add value through contacts in the capital markets. We provide sound business and legal advice related to all property types and industry sectors.
Key Areas of Counsel and Service
* Joint ventures, partnerships and equity investments
* Real estate finance and capital investments
* Commercial leasing and retail
* Land development and planning
* International development and cross border transactions
* Hospitality development, resorts and clubs
* Community Development
* Condominiums
Key Property Sectors
* Apartments, planned communities and residential subdivisions
* Condominiums, cooperatives and conversions: residential, commercial, mixed-use
* Hotels, resorts, golf and vacation clubs
* Offices: urban and suburban
* Industrial: distribution facilities, factories and warehouses
* Retail and shopping centers
* Recreational amenities: country club, golf course, marina and ski facilities
* Specialty developments: reclamation and brownfields redevelopment
* Research and development facilities
* Undeveloped land
Joint Ventures, Partnerships and Equity Investments
We counsel institutional investors, opportunity funds, private investors, REITs, and owners on most aspects of real estate investment. In addition to advising on the outright purchase and sale of property assets, we structure multifaceted relationships between parties for the ownership or development of real estate, including joint ventures, limited liability companies and subsidiary entities.
We have experience with most types of property assets in the commercial, residential, industrial and hospitality sectors and regularly perform the due diligence and negotiation of asset transfer. We have executed many divestment transactions including the sale and leaseback of assets and tax-deferred like-kind property exchanges. Whether you are a small-business client selling a free-standing property, or a REIT selling an entire multi-state property portfolio, we can help you attain certainty of execution and a thoughtfully integrated deal.
* Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
Real Estate Finance and Capital Markets
We have a thorough understanding of the capital markets, underwriting, and financing vehicles including products offered by balance sheet and conduit lenders. We have broad experience in secured lending for major financial institutions as well as opportunistic investors and have advised on first-mortgage term loans, mezzanine and permanent financings, participating loans, construction loan facilities, conduit lending programs, securitized financings and syndicated credit facilities.
We have the capacity to perform significant due diligence review and document production with transactional speed and efficiency. Our lawyers have a wide range of experience with tax exempt bond financings and have significant experience with related credit enhancement and substitution of collateral transactions.
Private Equity Real Estate
Greenberg Traurig provides advice on fund transactions from the earliest structuring discussions through to capitalization, term sheet negotiations, due diligence, the private offering process and final closing procedures. We also provide guidance on matters pertaining to investor relations and marketing strategy.
* Real Estate Funds
Commercial Leasing and Retail
We advise on commercial, industrial and retail leasing matters for both landlords and tenants. Among the clients we represent are urban office and retail developers, pension funds, insurance companies, retailers, property managers and REITs, as well as owners of several Manhattan office buildings. Our experience includes negotiating most types of operating leases, build-to-suit leases, ground leases and subleases for free-standing and pad sites, as well as related easement agreements. In addition, our multi-disciplinary approach to business makes us well-suited to counsel our clients on complex disputes, if needed.
* Real Estate Operations (REOPS)
* Retail
Land Development and Planning
Our experience with land development and subdivision matters includes representation on planned unit developments, recreational communities, retirement communities, condominiums, community development districts (CDDs), developments of regional impact (DRIs), and resort infrastructure developments. Greenberg Traurig lawyers have served as General Counsel to homebuilders in several states and have business experience within the homebuilding industry. Several members of our team have years of municipal and government experience and bring hands-on working knowledge of state and local ordinances, regulations and statutes.
We represent clients in matters pertaining to entitlements, securing related development agreements and approvals from state land departments, counties, and municipalities. We also assist in structuring and documenting various forms of public infrastructure and joint development agreements to finance and construct horizontal and vertical improvements, and school and other public-use site donation and related agreements. In addition, we negotiate complex interlocking agreements among state agencies, counties, municipalities, private utility companies and multiple private properties in order to put together comprehensive development plans, and advise on construction issues that include compliance with competitive bidding requirements and alternative methods of construction.
Community Development
We have broad experience with residential subdivision matters and mixed-use development, including planned unit developments, planned recreational communities, large and small mixed-use projects, new towns, condominiums, community development districts, resort infrastructure development and the relationship of such projects to related amenities such as schools, retail, golf courses, marinas, water features, environmental preserves, sports arenas and related attractions.
Key Capabilities
* Design and documentation of various types of common interests such as fee and leasehold undivided interests and multi-tiered use rights
* Private agreements, including covenants, conditions and restrictions, reciprocal easements, sharing of recreational amenities among related and unrelated subdivided projects, and planning, zoning and land use regulations
* Creation, operation and control, and turnover of owners associations
* Design, documentation and operation of condominium-hotel projects, golf course-condominium or planned community projects, and hotel and resort projects with commercial and retail elements, as well as urban hotel and resort-oriented mixed-use projects
* Real estate sales regulation, including state and federal land sales regulations, along with similar laws regulating camp resorts and mobile home parks
Property Owners’ Associations and Association Clubs
We regularly help clients develop governance structures that work well with the community plan, as well as the long-range planning and operational needs of the developer and the residents, including considerations for environmental stewardship and self-sustainability. We assist clients in creating master and neighborhood associations in planned residential and mixed-use projects, in order to provide for the efficient and productive development of the project. In some cases, developers may benefit from the use of an association club membership program, in which the association owns and operates amenities such as golf courses, clubhouses and tennis and swim facilities. Our attorneys have broad experience in advising developers whether an association club structure would be beneficial for their residential communities, and in designing association clubs for those that would benefit.
Our services with respect to community associations include:
* Design and structuring of property owners’ associations
* Determination as to whether sub-associations are necessary or desirable
* Advice with respect to the ownership and operation of amenities in the community
* Planning of operational aspects of the property owners’ association
* Counsel regarding turnover of control of the association, including strategic planning
Interstate Land Sales Disclosure Acts
We have broad experience with the federal Interstate Land Sales Disclosure Act (ILSDA), as well as the individual state land sales acts and regulations, and the associated advertising and registration requirements that apply under the federal and state acts. We efficiently evaluate the spectrum of requirements and restrictions that apply to a particular project and design and implement an effective sales and marketing program that complies with the multitude of federal and state laws. We prepare detailed public offering statements under ILSDA and applicable state laws, and the application and implementation of available exemptions, according to jurisdiction. We also assist clients in training and monitoring sales staff to manage the risk associated with Internet and other marketing initiatives within the structure of a meaningful legal sales and marketing campaign.
Hospitality Development, Resorts and Clubs
We advise clients on virtually every aspect of hospitality acquisition, development and conversion including investment structuring, financing, and construction, as well as the negotiation and documentation of management and services agreements between the owner and operator for hotel properties, condominium hotels, convention center hotels, and destination resorts, including specialty golf, ski and marina developments.
We help structure flexible, well-considered management arrangements and advise on appropriate relationships between various project components. Our team has led industry initiatives in agreements related to traditional hospitality properties, as well as fractional and private residence club projects, including innovative membership club structures which provide for revenue enhancement programs in under-utilized recreational amenities. We also provide counsel on the structure of rental programs and advise on regulatory compliance for matters related to sales, licensing and advertising.
* Hotels, Resorts & Clubs
Condominiums
Greenberg Traurig’s Real Estate Practice includes attorneys with broad capabilities in the areas of condominium law and condominium conversions. We have a wide range of experience representing developers, owners, condo hotel operators, licensors and lenders in connection with realizing new condominium projects from the ground-up, as well as with acquisitions, dispositions and conversions of condominium, condo-hotel, commercial condo and mixed-use properties in the United States and throughout the world. We have advised on the structuring of significant landmark condominium conversions such as The Plaza hotel in New York City and The Flamingo South Beach in Miami.
Some of our largest projects have involved multiple commercial, residential and condominium-hotel associations within the same property. We are knowledgeable about securities laws that may apply to condominium offerings and regularly advise on such matters.
International Development and Cross-Border Transactions
We have one of the largest dedicated cross-border practices in the U.S. and have broad experience in virtually all aspects of Latin American and Mexican cross-border transactions. We are primary outside counsel to companies doing business in Latin America and have been lead counsel on dedicated Latin America funds with some of the largest U.S. pension funds as investors. We have acquired several million square feet of industrial space on behalf of our clients and have been involved in structuring joint venture investments for various hospitality, retail and housing ventures.
Our European capabilities are driven by our Amsterdam office, as well as our strategic alliance partner, Studio Santa Maria in Milan and Rome.
Real Estate Certified Attorney - Florida Bar
Jonathan S Gelman
Greenberg Traurig PA
401 E Las Olas Blvd #2000
Fort Lauderdale FL 33301-2204
Tel: 954 765-0500
Fax: 954 765-1477
E-mail: gelmanj@gtlaw.com
Areas of Concentration
* Purchases and sales of commercial properties
* Development
* Joint ventures
* Retail, office and warehouse leasing
* Ground leasing
* Land assemblages
* Resolution of complex title issues
* Antenna tower leasing
* General business counseling
Jon counsels developers, investors and institutions in a wide variety of real estate and general business matters. In his 17 years of practice, Jon has successfully structured and closed hundreds of real estate transactions, including many notable local and national projects.
Experience
* Real Estate
* Retail
* Land Development
* Green Building & Sustainable Development
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