Venable lawyers work with the construction industry’s leading players on all types of matters. We represent owners, contractors, consultants, sponsors, insurers, and financiers. Our practical, hands-on understanding of our clients’ businesses is our core strength and has proved critical to our success.
Our lawyers have experience in all stages of the life cycle of construction projects, from initial financing and structuring to preparing bidding documents; negotiation of contracts with architects, engineers, contractors, consultants, and others; contract administration; dealing with casualties during construction or operations; dispute resolution; and completion. We have developed custom forms of agreement for the various types of contract structures which our clients may consider (e.g., lump sum, design/build, construction management, and management contracting). We are also leaders in understanding how Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and other green issues impact projects and legal agreements.
Our Team
- Counsel to one-third of publicly held REITs in America
- American College of Real Estate Lawyers:
- Seven members
- Two past presidents
- American Bar Association:
- Current member of the ABA House of Delegates
- Current Chair of the ABA Task Force on Gatekeeper Regulation and the Profession
- Former Chair of the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law
Practice Focus
Development
- Acquisition and disposition
- Condominiums/cooperatives
- Construction contracts
- Environmental concerns
- Hotel management agreements
- Joint ventures
- Like-kind exchanges
- Public-private partnerships
- Stock purchase agreements
Leasing
- Biotechnology
- Build-to-suit transactions
- Government
- Ground leases
- Office
- Retail and restaurant
- Warehouse/industrial
Financing
- Defeasance
- Hedges/swaps
- Mezzanine financing
- Mortgage lending/borrowing
- Sale/leaseback
- Securitized lending
- Strategies for dealing with distressed real estate
- Tax-exempt bonds
- Tax increment financing
- Tax planning for real estate transactions
Real estate related taxes
- PILOT agreements
- Recordation and transfer tax planning
- Tax exemptions
- Zoning and land use
Project Types
- Biotech laboratories
- Condominiums/cooperatives
- Hotels/resorts
- Industrial properties
- Mixed-use urban land development
- Multifamily housing
- Office buildings
- Residential communities
- Retail properties
- Shopping centers
- Telecommunications facilities
Client Focus
- Banks
- Brokers
- Developers
- Hospitality companies
- Investors
- Lenders
- Life insurance companies
- Pension funds
- Property managers
- REITs
- Retailers
- Syndicators
- Telecom and utility companies