Almost one-half of the fifty attorneys in our national Real Estate Group practice in the Midwest from our offices located in Chicago, Illinois; and Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The practices of these twenty-five attorneys cover the full range of our Group's expertise in Acquisitions and Dispositions, Commercial Landlord Leasing, Commercial Tenant Leasing, Real Estate Finance, and Land Use and Development and include members of all of our specialty teams.

Our Midwest-based attorneys practice throughout the region and nationally throughout the United States.

 

Some of our recent sales and acquisitions work that our attorneys have handled includes:

 

• Representation of a national real estate investment trust based in Chicago in connection with its acquisition and sale and financing of single and portfolio apartment properties throughout the country.
  
  
• Representation of an opportunity fund based in New York and Canada in connection with its portfolio acquisition and disposition of office properties throughout the country.
  
  
• The acquisition, leasing and sale of office and industrial properties for a private retirement fund based in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
  
  
• The purchase and sale of commercial properties throughout the country for corporate users based in Wisconsin and Illinois.

 

Examples of recent commercial leasing transactions in which our attorneys have been involved include representation of:

 

• The owners of high-rise office towers located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (including 411 East Wisconsin Avenue) and Chicago, Illinois (including One South Wacker Drive, Congress Center, 123 North Wacker Drive, 500 West Madison Street, and previously John Hancock Center, NBC Tower, 401 North Michigan Avenue, 200 South Wacker Drive, and UBS Tower, among others).
  
  
• Two (2) international law firms headquartered in Chicago, Illinois as anchor tenants in their relocation to new facilities being constructed along the Chicago River.
  
  
• An international investment banking firm headquartered in Chicago in connection with its leasing as anchor tenant of new quarters to be located in a 60-story high-rise tower along the Chicago River.
  
  
• A national brewery joint venture relocating its headquarters facilities to South Wacker Drive in Chicago, Illinois.
  
  
• Corporate users of real estate in their leasing of additional facilities throughout the country.
  
  
• Owners of suburban office and industrial parks located throughout Wisconsin and in Illinois.
  
  
• An international environmental firm establishing its American headquarters at the Aon Center in Chicago, Illinois.
  
  
• The City of Chicago in connection with its relocation of cargo carriers at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, and in connection with proposed development of a consolidated car rental facility at Midway Airport in Chicago.

 

Our recent work in the real estate financing area includes representation of:

 

• A number of banks based in the Midwest in connection with their long-term financing and workout of existing loans made to commercial owners and developers of property located in the Midwest.
  
  
• An east-coast national life insurance company as its Midwest regional counsel in connection with its long-term lending program in a 12-state region (including recently loans in Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio).
  
  
• A hedge fund with offices in Wisconsin and Illinois in connection with its mezzanine financing of various development projects.

 

Recent land use and development projects in which we have been involved include:

 

• Site acquisition, zoning, and project structuring for the Overture Center in downtown Madison, Wisconsin.
  
  
• Assembly of multiple real estate parcels, zoning and land use approvals, and negotiation and drafting of one of the country's first integrated project delivery contracts for development, design and construction of a $200 million public/private bio-medical research facility known as the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery in Madison, Wisconsin.
  
  
• Land acquisition and redevelopment of historical office and retail buildings associated with the Grand Avenue Mall in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
  
  
• Development of the LakeView Corporate Park, Grand View Business Park, and Business Park of Kenosha, located along the Interstate 94 corridor in southeastern Wisconsin.
  
  
• Zoning and entitlement work for various large-scale retail department store facilities owned by an international retailer and located in suburban Chicago, Illinois.
  
  
• Rezoning and TIF entitlements in connection with a client's facilities on the south side of Chicago as part of the City of Chicago's expansion of the UIC campus in Chicago.

For more information on how our Midwest Practice group can assist with your real estate needs, please contact Diane M. Haller at (602) 229-5625 or diane.haller@quarles.com.