Real Estate

Overview

At the forefront of Florida’s dynamic real estate market since 1925, Gunster lawyers provide comprehensive representation to property owners, developers, investors, lenders, managers, contractors, landlords and tenants across asset classes throughout Florida and the United States.

Why Us

Gunster has played an integral role in the industry, spearheading major development projects and offering comprehensive one-stop-shop counsel at every stage from property selection, due diligence, joint ventures, acquisitions and finance to development, construction, leasing and dispositions.

We have handled some of the largest and most notable real estate transactions in Florida, including the development of raw land, master-planned communities, office and industrial parks, shopping centers, hotels, golf courses and leisure and resort developments (including club structuring), high-rise condominiums, stadiums, marinas, residential and mixed-use projects and agricultural and farm land. We know and are actively involved in each major real estate market in Florida with the relationships to help our clients achieve their goals.

Working collaboratively across practices, our integrated team meets client needs through every phase of projects, taking each project from conception through completion with a focus on overcoming hurdles and getting deals done. Our Real Estate Group also handles real estate deals across the nation and in the Caribbean.

Our Clients 

• Property owners
• Developers
• Investors
• Lenders 
• Property managers
• Contractors
• Landlords 
• Tenants

How We Help

Our experience includes all areas of sophisticated and complex real estate matters, including specialty uses such as health care and energy industry facilities. Often our clients have hundreds of millions of dollars at stake and depend on us to deliver comprehensive legal counsel whether related to title, survey, environmental and land use approvals, property rights, and regulatory litigation or issues in the context of bankruptcy, foreclosure and receivership. Clients also rely on us for guidance on corporate structuring and operations-related issues, such as labor and employment concerns, governmental licensing, immigration, and tax planning.

Our Services

We regularly represent clients regarding acquisitions and dispositions, land use and zoning, land development and urban renewal, real estate finance, leasing, affordable housing, environmental and litigation.

Acquisitions and Dispositions

We represent buyers and sellers in acquiring and disposing of properties in all asset classes, from property identification through due diligence, contract negotiations and closing.

Land Use and Zoning

Our team offers wide-ranging experience with state, county and municipal regulators throughout Florida and regularly represents clients at public hearings before planning, land use and zoning boards, architectural review boards, historic preservation boards, municipal councils and county commissions in connection with annexations, site plans, comprehensive plan amendments, rezonings and large-scale master plan approvals.

Land Development and Urban Renewal

We assist clients with all aspects of development and redevelopment, including development and management agreements, governing documents for condominium, townhome and mixed-use projects, declarations of covenants and restrictions and shared access/reciprocal easement agreements. We also assist with construction contracts and construction defect litigation.

Real Estate Finance

We handle billions of dollars of real estate and construction financing for lenders and borrowers each year and advise on strategies to minimize state, federal and international real estate tax exposure. Our lawyers also advise in connection with debt restructuring, loan modifications and workouts, nonperforming loans, and distressed property purchases and sales, as well as represent borrowers in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financing.

Leasing

We regularly advise property owners, landlords and tenants on lease transactions, including office, industrial and retail leases, ground leases, build-to-suit issues, options, subleasing, lease assignments and lease terminations. When necessary, we also assist clients with tenant-related disputes and evictions.

Affordable Housing

Our attorneys have significant experience in the acquisition and disposition of multifamily projects, including those subject to affordable housing tax credit and bond restrictions that require transfer approval from state and local housing authorities. We also assist with compliance issues, government incentives and day-to-day operational matters.

Environmental

We guide clients through the ever-changing environmental regulations and handle environmental permitting related to wetlands, water use, endangered species, air and emissions before water management districts, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as advise on hazardous substance mitigation and removal.

Litigation

We represent clients in real estate and project-related disputes in state and federal courts and arbitrations, and before federal and state administrative courts. These include eminent domain proceedings, constitutional property rights litigation, claims arising under the Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act, contract and title disputes, and administrative litigation.

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Our Experience

• Representing a Southeastern United States regional developer/homebuilder in connection with various types of development projects, including all aspects of land use, entitlements, environmental, permitting, acquisition, financing, development, and ultimate disposition of various types of projects (e.g., raw land, developed lots, single-family homes, condominiums, hotels and other commercial parcels). As part of this work, Gunster has been instrumental in the development of numerous master-planned communities, condominium towers, hotels, and branded residences throughout the Southeastern United States.
• Representing multiple national clients in the acquisition, redevelopment, financing and disposition of multifamily apartment properties throughout the United States, including properties with market-rate rents, low-income housing tax credits, bond restrictions and HUD HAP contracts.
• Serving as lead land use/zoning counsel to the owner of over 280 acres of agricultural land in Western Miami-Dade County in connection with its application to move the county’s urban development boundary (UDB) to permit a $1 billion-plus mixed-use development on the site that will include approximately 2,080 townhome units, 1,750,000 square feet of industrial space, and 80 acres of parkland. Amending the UDB is considered one of the most difficult land use approvals one can undertake in the county.
• Serving as ongoing counsel related to one of the largest mixed-use, sustainable communities in Florida, handling land use and environmental approvals, litigation arising from those approvals, tax planning, and sales to multiple residential buildings, along with various governmental contracts, and construction contracting.
• Acted extensively for an owner-manager of major commercial real estate holdings in connection with more than 35 loans on multifamily apartments around the U.S. in 11 states for transactions totaling approximately $700 million.
• Advising a real estate owner-manager in the acquisition of a three-property multifamily apartment portfolio located in the greater New Orleans, LA area. All properties were originally developed with federal tax credits and subject to Section 42 IRS tax credit regulations. Coordinating and obtaining transfer approvals from the Louisiana Housing Corporation and partnership documents and equity investment with a national institutional investment fund.
• Representing a client in the acquisition, construction, development and operation of an electric-generation facility with a 520 MW capacity.
• Representing a U.S.-based financial services provider and the subsidiary of a global-leading financial institution in a vast range of negotiations linked to various retail bank branch leases, corporate office leases, acquisitions, sales of surplus properties and sale/leaseback transactions across the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.
• Representing a global real estate investment company in negotiating industrial leases throughout the Southeast of the United States.

• Acting as lender’s counsel on multiple bridge loan transactions related to multiple asset classes.
• Serving as counsel for multiple mitigation bank owners in the permitting and sale of mitigation credits throughout Florida.
• Representing some of Florida’s largest agricultural producers in matters of water use, environmental permitting, production and agritourism.
• Represented the master developer in acquisition, land use, environmental permitting, and the sale of a large property to the State of Florida, as well as in permitting a solar field for the largest sustainable community in Florida's history.
• Represented a farming company in the sale of 28,000 acres to a governmental entity for environmental conservation purposes.
• Represented a landowner in an inverse condemnation matter against the United States based on regulations causing a total loss of value to its property.
• Represented a large landowner in an administrative challenge to amendments to a county’s comprehensive plan designed to impede future development of the property.