Acquisitions, Dispositions, Leasing and Development

Each year, Holland & Knight helps our clients purchase, sell, lease, develop, operate and finance billions of dollars of commercial real estate assets. In addition to standard product types such as office, retail and industrial, we also represent clients in the acquisition and sale of specialty properties, including hotels, data centers and more. Our West Coast leasing attorneys have enormous depth and breadth of experience and, as a result, develop sophisticated solutions to client issues. We handle large portfolios containing complex and simple leases with equal efficiency, as well as all product types including office, industrial, flex, retail and mixeduse. Our attorneys also understand the lender’s role in the lease approval process and the competing interests of landlords, tenants and lenders in leasing transactions. We pride ourselves on our ability to negotiate triparty deals among these interested parties.

Holland & Knight represented AMLI Residential Properties LP in the acquisition of a 3.99-acre parcel of land in San Diego. The property will be redeveloped into a 434-unit multifamily apartment project consisting of six stories and mezzanine-level apartments wrapped around an eight-story parking structure.

Image provided by AMLI Residential Properties LP

Image provided by Sierra-Santa Clara Inc.

REPRESENTING HYATT HOTELS IN SALE OF LOST PINES RESORT AND SPA

Holland & Knight’s West Coast Real Estate Group represented Hyatt Hotels Corp. in the sale of the 600-acre Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa, which includes an 18-hole golf course and adjacent undeveloped parcel near Austin, Texas, for $275 million. Holland & Knight also concurrently represented Hyatt in the negotiation of the hotel management agreement between Hyatt and the new owner for the continued management of the resort, as well as the future development of the resort and adjacent parcel.

ADVISING SIERRA-SANTA CLARA IN SALE OF SILICON VALLEY HOTEL TO PARADIGM

Holland & Knight represented Sierra-Santa Clara Inc. in the sale of The Plaza Suites Silicon Valley – a 219-unit, allsuites hotel with a pool, restaurant and bar in Santa Clara, California – for $72.5 million to Paradigm Hotels Group.

ADVISING BERINGIA CENTRAL IN SALE OF U.S. BANK TOWER IN DOWNTOWN L.A.

Holland & Knight represented Beringia Central LLC in connection with the sale of the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles. Holland & Knight also represented the client’s acquisition of the U.S. Bank Tower seven years earlier. The U.S. Bank Tower is the secondtallest occupied building west of the Mississippi with more than 1.4 million square feet. One of the complexities of the transaction involved acquiring estoppels from multiple tenants amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the legal structure of Beringia Central LLC, the transaction also involved domestic and international tax issues as well as employment matters.

Class A Medical Office Building - Burlingame, California

ASSISTING MORGAN STANLEY REAL ESTATE INVESTING IN PURCHASE OF CLASS A MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING

Holland & Knight represented a private real estate fund advised by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing in its acquisition of a 106,018-square-foot Class A medical office building, including a five-story, 396-stall parking garage, in Burlingame, California.

Images provided by Marriott International Inc.

NEGOTIATING MARRIOTT BRANDING, MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS FOR BULGARI RESORT

Holland & Knight represented Marriott International Inc. in the negotiation of the branding and management agreements and subdivision documents for the Bulgari Resort in Los Angeles, an uber-luxury, mixed-use development in the hills above Los Angeles. The resort includes a 59-room Bulgari hotel and eight Bulgaribranded estates, ranging in size between 12,000 and 48,000 square feet. Through a relationship established more than a decade ago, Bulgari will provide the brand and Marriott will manage the hotel and residences, subject to uber-luxury standards developed by Bulgari and Marriott. This is the first mixed-use development hotel and residences for the Bulgari/Marriott brand in the United States. Negotiations were extensive – all agreements were tri-party and required approval by Marriott, Bulgari and developer Gary Safady, and the mixed-use and subdivision documents are unique to this project because of the luxury level and size of the estates.

Holland & Knight represented OHG Waterscape LLC, an affiliate of Opportunity Housing Group Inc., in connection with the acquisition and financing of the Waterscape Apartments, a multifamily rental housing facility consisting of 180 units and related improvements in Fairfield, California.

Prior to closing, OHG Waterscape assigned its interest in the purchase agreement to the California Statewide Communities Development Authority (CSCDA) Community Improvement Authority (CIA), a joint powers authority that financed the purchase price through the issuance of approximately $84.27 million in tax-exempt essential housing revenue bonds. Through the CSCDA CIA Workforce Housing Program, tax-exempt bonds are issued to acquire market-rate apartment buildings. These properties are then converted to income and rent-restricted units for moderate/middle income households, which are generally households earning 80 percent to 120 percent of area median income (AMI). Annual rent increases are capped at no more than 4 percent.

Opportunity Housing Group remains associated with the Waterscape Apartments as the project administrator and asset manager for the project. Holland & Knight served as real estate counsel and bond counsel for OHG/Opportunity Housing Group in the transaction.

Image provided by OHG Waterscape LLC

NEGOTIATING MANHATTAN FIVE PARTNERS’ JOINT VENTURE WITH FORTRESS

Holland & Knight represented California-based Manhattan Five Partners LLC in negotiating a joint venture agreement (JV agreement) with Fortress Investment Group for the purpose of purchasing seven multifamily properties in the Dallas-Arlington metropolitan area in Texas. Pursuant to the JV agreement, Holland & Knight also represented Manhattan Five Partners as the “purchaser” of the seven properties.

This was a complex project with many variables. First, the seven properties were owned by two different seller entities, which was reflected in two separate purchase and sale agreements. In addition, pursuant to the JV agreement, the right to acquire title to each property was assigned to a special purpose entity, thus, creating seven purchasing entities. Second, each property required financing – three of which were new loan originations and four of which were assigned. Each loan was then assumed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, two of which also required securitization. Throughout the course of the transaction, Holland & Knight worked with broker and counsel for three different lenders to finalize loan documentation concurrently with each closing. The transaction spanned across Holland & Knight offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.

Because of the complexity of the transaction, Holland & Knight managed three staggered closing dates: four properties closed on March 25, 2021, one property closed on March 31, 2021, and the final two properties closed on April 20, 2021.