Commercial

  • March 20, 2025

    Feds Ask High Court To Nix Mich. Tribal Land Trust Row

    A Michigan tribe's analysis of a law governing the state's Indigenous land claims would allow it to purchase property anywhere and then compel the U.S. to take it into trust for its benefit, the Interior Department has told the Supreme Court, arguing the interpretation would render a bizarre result.

  • March 20, 2025

    UAE Sovereign Fund, Energy Biz Form $25B Infrastructure JV

    United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth fund ADQ and energy infrastructure-focused investment firm Energy Capital Partners announced that they've formed a more than $25 billion "50-50" joint venture that aims to invest in U.S. power infrastructure that will support "data centers, hyperscale cloud companies and other energy-intensive industries."

  • March 20, 2025

    Conn. AG Sues Builder, Companies For State Park Clear-Cut

    A real estate builder and two of his companies have illegally clear-cut multiple acres of Connecticut state park land, installed fixtures including a basketball court and a guesthouse without permission and blocked public access to the area, according to an enforcement action brought by the state attorney general's office.

  • March 20, 2025

    Office-To-Residential Efforts Offer Pain And Potential

    With an estimated 1 billion square feet of office space currently vacant across the country and housing affordability a widespread concern, office-to-residential conversions have obvious appeal. But experts speaking at a multifamily housing event this month said while these projects can ultimately turn out great, the challenges in completing them will prevent the volume needed to solve the nation's housing crisis.

  • March 20, 2025

    Investor Sues For Real Estate AI Co. Shares Under $100M Deal

    A Luxembourg-based investment firm sued artificial intelligence homebuying platform ReAlpha in New York federal court, seeking to enforce a $100 million share purchase agreement a week after a federal judge rejected the platform's attempt to escape the deal.

  • March 20, 2025

    Extell Shrinks Height For Planned NYC 5th Ave. Tower

    Extell Development reduced the height of a once-proposed 78-story tower on Manhattan's Fifth Ave. down to 32 stories tall, according to recent filings with the New York City Department of Buildings, and Law360 has removed the project from its Tall Buildings Tracker.

  • March 20, 2025

    Baron Property Clinches $206M Loan To Build Fla. Rentals

    Baron Property Group borrowed $206 million from investment advisory firm Post Road Group to build its 661-unit Metro Parc North residential project in Hialeah, Florida, according to a March 20 announcement.

  • March 20, 2025

    Jurisdictional Uncertainty Helps Preserve Ill. Tax Bias Suit

    Cook County property owners who mistakenly brought discriminatory assessment accusations in state court before taking their allegations to federal court can continue pursuing those claims, an Illinois judge said, rejecting the county's timeliness challenge. 

  • March 20, 2025

    Denver Environmental Lawyer Rejoins V&E From Kirkland

    Vinson & Elkins LLP has announced the return of a Denver environmental lawyer from Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

  • March 19, 2025

    Your Competition Is Probably Investing In Their Clients

    Legal advisers typically sit beside, not across, from their clients, and advise on deals rather than take part in them.

  • March 19, 2025

    California Rancheria Can Comment On Casino Land Dispute

    A D.C. federal judge has let the Redding Rancheria file a friend of the court brief in two tribes' challenge to the U.S. government's decision to take 221 acres into trust for the rancheria's casino project, ruling it has a special interest in the litigation.

  • March 19, 2025

    Nashville Developers Land $253M For 30-Story Hotel Tower

    Two real estate firms secured a $253 million financing package to build a 30-story hotel and condominium complex in Nashville's Paseo South Gulch district, borrower-side broker Walker & Dunlop said on Wednesday.

  • March 19, 2025

    Holland & Knight Attys On Undoing GSA Lease Terminations

    When the General Services Administration announced it was terminating roughly 1,000 of its leases, a pair of lawyers at Holland & Knight LLP started getting calls from clients. In some cases, they advised them that certain terminations were valid, while in others, they helped to restore improperly terminated leases. The pair recently spoke to Law360 Real Estate Authority on the evolving issue and how they're advising clients going forward.

  • March 19, 2025

    Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2025 Editorial Boards

    Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2025 Editorial Advisory Boards.

  • March 19, 2025

    Owners Probe Refi Possibilities In Clean Energy Finance Tool

    After a clean energy finance tool gained steam as a relatively low-cost, long-term financing option, property owners in some states are now leaning on its retroactive capabilities to free up capital and pay down senior lenders.

  • March 19, 2025

    Pot Co. Can't Upend Borough's Support For Rival Shop

    A New Jersey appeals panel won't let a would-be Keyport cannabis dispensary prevent the borough from granting support for a cannabis license to one of its rivals, saying the trial court was right to find that the process was not arbitrary or capricious.

  • March 19, 2025

    Wyo. Prescribes Order For Applying Property Tax Breaks

    Wyoming established an order in which property tax exemptions should be applied when multiple exemptions apply to the same property under a bill signed by the governor.

  • March 18, 2025

    J&J Denies 'Evil Motive' In Face Of $30M Talc Damages

    Johnson & Johnson did not act with the kind of "evil motive" that would justify a $30 million punitive damages award to a Connecticut man who won a lawsuit alleging its talc products caused his lung cancer, the company argued Tuesday in state court.

  • March 18, 2025

    Fla. Mall Investor Gets 5 Years In $77M WeWork Stock Fraud

    A Manhattan federal judge sentenced a real estate investor and former owner of a Florida waterfront shopping complex to five years in prison Tuesday following a fraud conviction in connection with manipulating the price of WeWork Inc.'s stock at $77 million shortly before the company declared bankruptcy.

  • March 18, 2025

    Conn. Coalition Can't Challenge Pot Shop Zoning Approval

    A Connecticut state judge has thrown out a challenge by a group of Stamford residents appealing the city zoning board's approval of a cannabis shop location, finding neither the coalition nor its individual members have shown they have standing.

  • March 18, 2025

    Bancorp Downplayed CRE Bridge Loan Risks, Investor Claims

    An investor in The Bancorp Inc. is accusing the financial holding company in Delaware federal court of causing stock value to decline by misleading investors, including by not fully disclosing how its commercial real estate bridge loans were in danger of defaulting.

  • March 18, 2025

    Fate Of Boston Women's Soccer Stadium Turns On Site Status

    Opponents of a $200 million project to turn a decrepit 75-year-old stadium into the home of a new professional women's soccer team at a historic Boston park urged a judge on Tuesday to find that officials have failed to follow a state law intended to preserve public parks.

  • March 18, 2025

    Excel, Ares Join For East Coast Hotel Portfolio Partnership

    Private equity firm Excel Group and Ares Management have teamed up to invest in a portfolio of Marriott- and Hilton-branded hotels across the East Coast, the companies said Tuesday.

  • March 18, 2025

    New Data Center JV Banks On Chevron Power Plans

    Investment firm Engine No. 1 and Crusoe Energy Systems LLC have announced they are partnering to develop a large-scale data center campus with artificial intelligence computing capabilities, which they say will benefit from a joint venture between Engine and Chevron announced earlier this year.

  • March 18, 2025

    DOJ Says Calif. City's Zoning Illegally Favors Secular Use

    The U.S. Department of Justice is backing a church in Santa Ana, California, claiming zoning rules violate federal law by favoring secular uses for an office building the congregation agreed to purchase before learning city rules require a permit to hold religious services.

Expert Analysis

  • Adjusting Deals To Reflect Shifts In The CRE Market

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    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.

  • 4 International Arbitration Trends To Monitor In 2024

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    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.

  • How DOI Aims To Modernize Resource Damage Assessments

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    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.

  • Key Issues When Navigating A Tenant's Bankruptcy

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    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.

  • The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security

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    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.

  • Sale-Leasebacks May Provide A Safe Financing Alternative

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    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.

  • 5 Recent Developments Family Offices Are Watching In 2024

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    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.

  • A Challenging CRE Environment Holds Opportunities In 2024

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    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.

  • What The 2023 Bank Failures Taught Us, And What's To Come

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    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.

  • A Difficult Year For CRE, But Future May Be Brighter

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    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.

  • 3 Developments That Will Affect Hospitality Companies In 2024

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    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.

  • What WeWork's Ch. 11 Filing Means For Landlords

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    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.

  • The 4 Top Philadelphia Commerce Court Opinions Of 2023

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    Four 2023 rulings from the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas — including decisions on judicial privilege, stay requests, sheriff's sales and the appointment of a receiver — highlight the court's commitment to stringent standards and address evolving challenges in commercial litigation, say Jonathan Hugg and Sarah Boutros at Eckert Seamans.