Veteran of numerous complex commercial real estate financings has worked on municipal, structured, project and mezzanine deals; has also handled restructurings and distressed assets
Baltimore, MD (March 5, 2012) – Continuing the growth of its top-rated real estate practice, Venable LLP announced that commercial real estate attorney Gina Adams Zentz has joined the firm as Of Counsel in its Baltimore office. She arrives from the Baltimore office of Gallagher Evellus & Jones LLP, where she had practiced since 2000.
Ms. Zentz represents lenders and developers across a full range of commercial real estate financings. She has regularly worked on complex multi-party transactions, including structured finance, project finance and mezzanine finance deals. She’s also advised on restructurings and distressed asset financings.
Her transaction experience includes rated and securitized debt obligations utilizing multiple sources of funding and subsidies, such as tax-exempt municipal bonds, low-income housing tax credits, PILOTs, conventional bank loans, equity investments, Fannie/Freddie Agency insured loans, as well as loans provided by county and state agencies.
Ms. Zentz has been especially active in municipal finance transactions, representing lenders, bond purchasers and developers in over 60 tax-exempt municipal bond financings for real estate projects. She has also represented the developer of photovoltaic solar facilities in installation and permanent loan project financings.
At Venable, Ms. Zentz joins one of the country’s leading real estate practices, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic region. The firm regularly advises on high-profile, multi-state deals; and its clients include some of the country’s largest investment managers, pension funds and other institutional investors, developers, corporate property owners, and private equity investors in their real estate matters. Venable has long had a dominant practice advising publicly held real estate investment trusts – the firm consistently ranks among the leaders in REIT representations, given the majority of REITs are governed by Maryland corporate law.
Ms. Zentz’s frequent restructuring work fits well into Venable’s outsized role in distressed real estate matters. The firm has become well-known in recent years for its work advising special mortgage servicers in large real estate restructurings and bankruptcies. Venable advised CW Capital Asset Management in the 2010 foreclosure proceedings on the 80-acre Stuyvesant Town residential complex in New York City and in the 2009 bankruptcy of the country’s second-largest mall operator General Growth Properties, with $27 billion worth of debts at the time of filing.
“Gina Zentz is a terrific generalist, with solid experience in all aspects of commercial real estate finance and an impressive track record handling complex structured financings. Her active work in distressed assets and restructurings makes her a great addition to our market-leading practice” said Kevin Shepherd, co-chair of Venable’s Real Estate practice.
“I’m happy to join one of the leading real estate practices in the country. Venable has a legendary reputation in Maryland and the firm is known for working on the most challenging, and most interesting, financing deals. I look forward to making my own contributions to the group,” said Ms. Zentz.
Ms. Zentz received her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law (1997) and her B.A. from the University of Maryland (1993).
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