Venable's New York Real Estate Practice Group served as counsel to Waterfront N.Y. LP in the sale of the Terminal Stores Building, a former warehouse complex comprising a full city block on the far west side of Manhattan, in close proximity to Hudson Yards. Waterfront was a majority owner of the joint venture that held title to this historic building and has controlled the property for more than 30 years, steadily redeveloping and repositioning the property to generate the value realized in the sale. The property was sold to a joint venture of L&L Holding Company and Normandy Real Estate Partners, for a reported sale price of $880 million. Michael Phillipou led the Venable team on the transaction, which included New York real estate lawyers Suzanne St. Pierre, John Walsh, and Ashwin Narla. The transaction also involved support from lawyers throughout the firm, advising on non-real estate matters attendant to the transaction. Prior to his retirement in 2017, Venable partner Peter Britell led the representation of Waterfront and certain of its partners for more than twenty years.
The historic Terminal Stores Building, between 11th and 12th Avenues and West 27th and West 28th Streets, opened in 1891, offering storage for goods coming off trains, which could enter the building on rail tracks for unloading. Over the years it has housed such tenants as the "Tunnel" nightclub and includes Manhattan's largest self-storage facility. Today it is home to commercial office space for several large name-brand technology and consumer goods companies.
Venable's New York real estate team constitutes a full-service practice, priding themselves on their creative and efficient approach to advising public and private owners, developers, and investors on acquisition, disposition, financing, zoning and land use, environmental, design and construction, JV, and leasing concerns for projects throughout New York City.