McCandlish Holton’s Real Estate and Finance Group attorneys have extensive experience in a variety of commercial transactions, including the full array of real estate transactions, financing arrangements and general commercial contract negotiations.  We specialize in the acquisition, disposition, development, condominiumization and financing of retail, industrial, office and multi-tenant residential projects.  We have a number of lawyers who are actively engaged in shopping center development, including life style centers, community centers and stand alone locations.  Our group has particular expertise in health care projects, including assisted living facilities, nursing homes and large professional offices. We have vast experience in tax credit advantaged transactions, including transactions that utilize multi-family affordable housing tax credits and historic rehabilitation tax credits. The firm’s transactional attorneys work closely with our tax and corporate attorneys in structuring transactions to facilitate operations and maximize favorable tax treatment.

Real Estate
The firm represents commercial real estate developers, investors, owners, tenants and lenders. Our representation includes closing purchases and sales, as well as negotiation of purchase agreements, leases, easements, loan documents and other acquisition, financing and construction documents.  Our lawyers assist clients with approvals and entitlements, including interaction with government officials in zoning, land use and environmental matters.

We represent clients in the full array of commercial real estate transactions, including:

• Acquisition and disposition of retail, industrial, office, multi-tenant residential and health care facilities
• Leases, ground leases and formation of condominium regimes for all types of residential, commercial and industrial properties
• Affordable housing tax credit and historic tax credit developments
• Apportionment of easements
• Construction contracting, including lien and surety issues
• Complex title and survey matters
• Leveraged lease, sale leaseback, synthetic lease and similar financing transactions
• Confidential assemblages of land
• Conservation easements and tax credits

Commercial Contracts
Our representation of manufacturing, biotech, telecommunications and service companies of all sizes and a wide variety of physician and other professional practices involves the regular review and negotiation of procurement contracts, leases, licenses and easements. We often partner with our clients on the management of these types of contracts, drawing on their particular expertise in their area of business and complementing it with our legal advice and a strong business perspective gained from our exposure to many different types of commercial enterprises. We recognize the client’s need to consummate the contracts required for its operations in an efficient and timely manner, and pride ourselves on our ability to meet the client’s needs in this regard.

Financing Transactions
Our commercial lawyers represent clients in various types of debt and equity financing, including asset-based working capital loans, first and subordinate mortgage loans, acquisition and construction loans, combination construction/permanent loans, participation and joint venture investments, wrap-around mortgage loans, bridge loans, and mezzanine loan financing. Our work for corporate borrowers, commercial banks and insurance companies involves us in secured and unsecured lending from the perspective of both borrowers and lenders.   We combine our financing and leasing expertise to represent developers and lenders in synthetic lease and sale/leaseback transactions.

Public Finance
The firm serves as bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel in connection with the issuance and sale of tax-exempt bonds. The firm also serves as counsel to private entities seeking industrial development bond financing.

Land Use Development
The firm advises clients in the acquisition and development of land. Our work includes assistance in securing the proper zoning, such as subdivision and site plan approvals, obtaining use and construction permits, preparing specialized documentation, such as proffers, zoning conditions, and planned use development documents.

Environmental Due Diligence
Environmental due diligence focuses upon obtaining necessary environmental permits and identifying compliance and liability issues. This includes:

• Water pollution controls
• Water resource use limitations
• Solid and hazardous waste management
• Regulation of storage tanks
• CERCLA liability
• Regulation of wetlands and other environmentally sensitive areas
• Advice with respect to mold, fungi and other environmental hazards

Health Care Facilities
We represent health care providers in the development, acquisition and financing of nursing homes, continuing care facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, radiation oncology centers, medical office buildings and assisted living facilities.

Telecommunications
We represent both landowners and publicly traded telecommunications providers in the acquisition and negotiation of license and easement rights, access agreements for commercial buildings and residential developments, and collocation agreements incidental to the operation of telecommunications facilities. We also represent a regulated utility and its telecommunications affiliate on real estate matters and are on the cutting edge of the “open access” issues arising under The Telecommunications Act of 1996, which provides that all utilities must provide non-discriminatory access to telecommunications carriers to the poles, ducts, conduits or right-of-ways owned or controlled by them.

We have served as co-counsel for a major utility in seminal litigation involving apportionment of easement rights to allow construction and installation of fiber optic lines and other telecommunications facilities in its easements. Our expertise in federal, state and local developments involving the telecommunications industry will position our telecommunications and technology development clients well to capitalize on the high speed and high capacity technology infrastructure underdevelopment throughout the Commonwealth’s localities.