| Representing Upper Uwchlan Township in the Route 100 by-pass road project about 2 miles from the Route 100 exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This project also includes the acquisition of rights-of way via negotiated agreements and/or condemnations. The construction of the road improvements has not begun.Representing Towamencin Township in the Forty Foot Road and Sumneytown Pike Road improvement projects that began in the late 1990's. The projects include the acquisition of rights-of way via negotiated agreements and/or condemnations. These improvements are located near the Lansdale Exit of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Although the road improvements have been constructed, we are finishing up a few of the condemnations.Led the effort to overcome title issues through grants from the New York State Office of Governmental Services and Westchester County and to negotiate and close pre-development financing and mezzanine debt with a Japanese financial partner for the Davids Island Project (the multifaceted development of an island in the Long Island Sound off the coast of New Rochelle), which is owned by the City of New Rochelle. Participated, through and with the developer’s local representative, in seeking a bridge permit from the Coast Guard, seeking to acquire Con Edison’s fee title in exchange for an easement (or to take the fee title through eminent domain, in consultation with special condemnation counsel to the project.Handled the Lincoln West Project (the residential development of a large tract of land in Manhattan located on the Hudson River), contemplating the development of former rail yards stretching from West 59th Street through West 72nd Street. The site was the largest undeveloped parcel of property in Manhattan, and the client was a partnership controlled by Donald Trump, with a minority interest in Abe Hirschfeld. We represented the client in connection with the acquisition of the site from its former putative developer, the financing for such acquisition and the partnership agreement between the Trump and Hirschfeld interests, and, thereafter, the venture in its efforts to find a financial partner. We also assisted in the minor day-to-day issues regarding the ownership of the site, and consulted with the attorneys retained by the venture to deal with the environmental, planning, zoning and other land use issues.Handling the Queens West Waterfront Development Project, a joint project of the state, city and the port authority of New York and New Jersey, which is being developed on a 74-acre waterfront site directly across the East River from the United Nations, at Hunters Point, Queens. It is a mixed-use project to include residential and commercial uses, and comprises 14 development parcels to be leased to private developers, totaling 9.3 million square feet, and 19+ acres of parkland.Represented Oliver Tyrone Pulver Corp in Conshohocken, PA and West Conshohocken, PA, in riverfront development since 1987. The project included PA redevelopment and condemnations, about 1.5 million square feet of office space, and two Marriott Hotels.Handling a joint project of the city and state of New York, the Hudson River Park project, developing a 550-acre park extending for five miles along the Manhattan shoreline from Battery Place to West 59th Street. In 1992, our attorney organized and became counsel to another Urban Development Corporation subsidiary, the Hudson River Park Conservancy, which completed a detailed concept plan and design guidelines for the project, undertook the environmental review process for it, began managing and leasing some of the property for the State Department of Transportation, and created some interim public spaces (such as a temporary waterside walkway) in the process. Until 1994, our attorney advised the Conservancy's management with respect to the legal aspects of all these activities and supervised outside environmental counsel retained in connection with the project.Redevelopment of the former 500,00 square foot Radio Corporation of America "Nipper Building" in Camden, NJ into 300-unit luxury apartment complex.Redevelopment of the former 67-acre Stop & Shop North Haven, CT facility.Representing a client in connection with the acquisition of six multifamily apartment complexes in the Southeast and the structuring of a joint venture arrangement between the firm’s client and the seller of the properties.Representing the developer of a 500,000 square foot office/hotel project in suburban Philadelphia in connection with the receipt of all land-use and development approvals.Representing the developer of a building converted from office use to corporate housing that was master leased to a national corporate housing company. Handled the sale of a 70 percent interest for our clients, the shareholders of an environmental equipment company, for approximately $35 million. The transaction involved the sale of all of the assets of the corporation owned by the individual shareholders to a newly formed corporation in which the selling shareholders will have a 30 percent interest. Handled the Port Imperial Project (the mixed development of a large tract of land along the Hudson River opposite Midtown Manhattan), which was the counterpoint to Lincoln West, former rail yards stretching for several miles along the New Jersey side of the Hudson River below the Palisades. The site was owned by Arthur Imperatore, a trucking magnate aspiring to become a real estate developer, who acquired them from the Penn Central Railroad some years before our firm’s involvement. The site also held the landing area for the ferry service between Manhattan and Weehawken (also run by Imperatore), a large amount of parking for the ferry, a marina and boat repair operation, and some office space. We represented Imperatore in negotiations to establish a joint venture with a Texas developer for development of a portion of the property, negotiations to terminate the development rights of Hartz Mountain, negotiations to refinance the debt, the construction and operation of a restaurant by Imperatore on the site, etc., and also worked with environmental counsel and land use counsel with respect to the development of the site.Representing a developer against a mortgage brokerage firm in connection with a multimillion-dollar dispute concerning a fee allegedly owed for procuring an equity joint venture partner.Successfully completed the $31.5 million acquisition of the Commonwealth Corporate Center, an office park situated on four contiguous properties comprising more than 80 acres in Horsham, PA, from Advanta Corp. for our client, Centocor, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Handled the acquisition of the former IBM plant in East Fishkill, NY, which includes more than one-million square feet of space with plans to build 600,000 square feet and an investment of $300 million to $400 million in the project for our client, Assisted Preferred Real Estate Investments, Inc. (who took title under the entity name of PREI Hopewell Junction Associates, L.P.). We are currently working on this project, as we are helping the client subdivide the property, craft easements and navigate the post-closing environmental obligations associated with the redevelopment of the land and existing building. Additionally, we have ongoing negotiations with IBM, which has a lease on the property until the end of August 2006.Remediated and redeveloped the contaminated 10-acre Campbell’s Soup riverfront manufacturing site in Camden, NJ into a state-of-the-art minor league baseball stadium.Represented Arthur Imperatore with respect to the Port Camelot Project (the largest designated development parcel at its time in Southern New Jersey, located on the Delaware River at West Deptford), which was a second waterfront development project undertaken by Imperatore during the 1980s, involving a parcel of land owned by Tenneco on the shore of the Delaware River in West Deptford, NJ across from Philadelphia. Our attorney negotiated and had consummated a partnership agreement between Imperatore’s company and the three local businessmen who held the option to acquire the site from Tenneco. Under the partnership agreement, Imperatore was appointed the managing partner, as well as agreed to be a funding source for the partnership. Besides the partnership agreement, our attorney was involved in negotiating several extensions of the Tenneco option.Redevelopment of the former 391-acre Ingersoll-Rand Phillipsburg, NJ facility into a multi-tenant industrial park. |
