Moses & Singer has a dynamic real estate practice touching virtually every facet of the industry. The Real Estate practice group regularly counsels lenders, borrowers, landlords, and tenants as well as individual investors, developers, hotel operators, and property managers, nationally and locally, in the acquisition and divestiture of real estate, leasing transactions, financings, and restructuring and insolvency.

Acquisitions and Divestitures

The Real Estate Practice Group of Moses & Singer serves as counsel to buyers and sellers of all types of real estate, including office buildings, shopping centers, hotels, industrial sites, vacant land, and apartment and condominium complexes and co-ops in New York City, as well as in other cities across the country. Quite frequently, we structure complex partnership and joint venture arrangements between operators and capital partners. Our experience includes:

• Portfolio acquisitions/dispositions;
• Land acquisition;
• Hotel and retail property acquisitions/dispositions;
• Office property acquisitions/dispositions; and
• Multi-family property transactions.

Representative Acquisitions and Divestitures

• Acquisition of 60 Wall Street, a 1,600,000 square foot office tower;
• Sale of 130 Liberty Street (a 50 story office building, environmentally compromised by the events of September 11, 2001) to the development authority in-lieu-of eminent domain;
• The tax-free exchange of various interests in 280 Park Avenue in New York City and the purchase of the land under the building to consolidate ownership in the tenant;
• The arbitration proceedings for the valuation of the remaining interests at 280 Park Avenue and settlement agreements to provide for the acquisition thereof;
• Purchase and financing of loft and commercial buildings in lower Manhattan for conversion to residential;
• The land acquisition and development of 1,000 townhouse apartments for lease by the U.S. Navy as family housing;
• Acquisition of disaster recovery data center site.

Leasing Transactions

We have significant experience representing both tenants and owners in connection with the leasing of real property for office, industrial, and retail purposes. We also represent larger corporate users of real estate in connection with space needs. Our work in this area includes:

• Negotiation of office, industrial, and retail leases;
• Ground lease and net lease transactions;
• Sale and lease-back transactions;
• Representation of corporate real estate departments in their space needs throughout the country;
• Disposition of leased space through sublease and surrender of lease;
• Lease-up programs for major office buildings; and
• Sublease and assignment transactions.

Representative Leasing Transactions

• Retail and office leases such as for 400,000 square feet plus expansion options at 53rd Street and Avenue of the Americas, New York City;
• 500,000 square foot lease of entire building and 250,000 square foot lease, each on the waterfront in New Jersey;
• Numerous leases at 280 Park Avenue and 130 Liberty Street, New York City;
• Various sublettings representing sublessor, especially in corporate consolidations, including 150,000 and 100,000 square foot transactions;
• Various sublettings representing sublessee, particularly representing tenants affected by the events of September 11, 2001;
• Lease dispositions, such as surrender, “take back sublease” to owner, tri-party sublease and direct lease on long term basis between owner and sublessee
• Takeover of 200,000 square foot lease at 200 Park Avenue and disposition through sublet and surrender;
• Numerous office leases for tenants throughout the country;
• Lease and master lease, with purchase options, of a property in Nashville, Tennessee, for use as a telephone center for employee pension inquiries;
• Data center leases (including focus on infrastructure, emergency power and maintenance protocols);
• National brokerage representation and other brokerage agreements; and
• Office building management agreements.

Financing

The Real Estate practice group is extensively involved in a wide variety of financing transactions. We represent clients in regard to:

• Acquisition, bridge, and construction financing and refinancing of office, hotel, residential, retail, and multi-use properties;
• Revolving loans to real estate ventures collateralized by fee, leasehold, and mortgage interests;
• Financings secured by REIT or other equity interests of real estate owners and developers;
• Rated financings securitized with U.S. government lease obligations;
• Leveraged buy-out transactions involving real estate as collateral; and
• Tax exempt bond financings rated and secured by letters of credit for 80/20 housing projects, housing for the homeless, airport hotels, water treatment plants, and other public purpose projects.

Representative Financing Transactions

• $80 million revolving credit facility to an opportunity fund secured by mortgages and assignments of mortgages and partnership interests;
  
• Term financings for major CBD office properties, including Exchange Place in Boston and 320 Park Avenue in New York City;
  
• The acquisition and construction financing of major office buildings in New York City, such as Financial Square, a 1,000,000 square foot project in lower Manhattan, and two of the office towers and the “Winter Garden” developed in Battery Park City;
  
• $97 million financing securitized with government lease obligations through a public issue of participation certificates rated by the rating agencies;
  
• Multi-million dollar credit facility to a real estate “vulture” investment fund secured by pledges of acquired interests in numerous real estate ventures;
  
• Multi-state mortgage financings, such as LBO transactions involving real estate collateral;
  
• Represent lenders secured by pledges of UPREIT units;
  
• REIT revolving credit financings cross-collateralized by fee, leasehold, partnership and mortgage interests; revolving line of credit to major REIT umbrella partnership;
  
• Numerous hotel financings such as the Ramada Tropicana Hotel, Atlantic City; Back Bay Hilton, Boston and the resort assets held by Winthrop Properties on Nantucket Island;
  
• $456 million multi-bank credit facility to a publicly owned partnership formed by Marriott for “off-balance sheet” financing of various hotel facilities throughout the country;
  
• Representation of credit enhancer in tax exempt financings for construction of $68 million multi-family residential property in New York City, various industrial development revenue bonds and water treatment plant in Arizona;
• Interim mortgage loan covering substantial midtown office building with funded escrows for tenant improvements and leasing brokerage commissions; and
• Representation of lead lenders and participants in numerous high profile loan syndications.

Restructuring and Insolvency

In times of market downturns, clients-lenders and borrowers alike look to Moses & Singer for advice with regard to troubled real estate, foreclosures, workouts, and re-sales of foreclosed property. Our experience includes:

• Restructuring of mortgage loans;
  
• Restructuring of letter of credit-enhanced debt;
  
• Restructuring of debt secured by fees, leaseholds, and partnership interests.

Representative Restructuring and Insolvency Transactions

• Restructuring of letters of credit and conventional debt on various hotel properties, including two airport Holiday Inn hotels;
  
• Restructuring of loans secured by fees, leaseholds and partnership interests in joint ventures with IBM for major office building and mixed-use projects in Virginia and Maryland; and
  
• Representation of the creditors committee in the Chapter 11 case of a developer of retirement and elder care facilities, after which the creditors represented by the committee took control of the company.

We have represented owners, contractors and design professionals in negotiation and drafting of construction and design contracts, in court disputes, arbitrations and negotiations to resolve differences that arise in the course of construction, and in exercising rights under the New York Lien Law. 

• Representation of a major contractor in all aspects of its business, with special emphasis on construction and architectural agreements and the legal issues associated with renovation projects.
  
• Renovation of building to communications switch center.
  
• Representation of an architectural firm in a jury trial arising out of a multi-million dollar apartment renovation, resulting in a verdict denying all claims for architectural malpractice and awarding the architect substantially all its fees.
  
• Negotiation of design and construction agreements for commercial and residential buildings and facilities for not-for-profit institutions.

• Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate
  
• CoreNet Global Corporate Real Estate
• Mortgage Bankers Association  of New York

For more information please email us at realestateinfo@mosessinger.com