Specialty Teams

Our Southwest-based attorneys include members of all of our specialty teams practicing throughout the region and nationally in collaboration with attorneys in our other offices, and assist banks and other financial institutions, national and local developers, homebuilders, pension funds and REITs to acquire, sell, develop, manage, lease, operate, finance and joint venture commercial properties including master-planned communities, mixed-use projects, high-rise office buildings and industrial parks.

Some of our recent sales and acquisitions work includes representation of:

• A national oil company and other clients in the bulk acquisition, disposition, sale and leaseback, and financing of more than one thousand gas stations and convenience stores located throughout the U.S. and in the development, management and operation of convenience store distribution facilities.
  
  
• A national bank in the sale of bank-owned "REO" property in Arizona and Nevada.
  
  
• A court-appointed receiver in the liquidation of real property owned by national homebuilders.
  
  
• A regional developer in its sale of two office towers in the Hayden Ferry Lakeside project in Tempe, Arizona.
  
  
• A national bank in connection with the purchase, development, leasing, operating and selling of its bank properties in Arizona, including high-rise office buildings, call centers, credit card facilities, employment centers, branch offices and in-store bank branches.
  
  
• A university in the development of a university campus area site for a $150 million multi-disciplinary research facility.
  
  
• A developer, as lead counsel, in the acquisition from Arizona State University of real estate and ground lease option rights along the lakefront of Tempe Town Lake.
  
  
• A national restaurant chain in the purchase of multiple restaurant sites.
  
  
• A public company in the sale of multiple parcels of previously contaminated real property.

Examples of recent commercial leasing transactions include representation of:

• The owners of high-rise office towers located in Phoenix, Arizona, including the Collier Center, Phoenix Plaza, Renaissance One, Renaissance Two, 100 West Washington Street and Hayden Ferry Lakeside.
  
  
• The owners of large industrial/office properties, including a national real estate investment trust in the leasing of multiple industrial and flex office buildings, and the owner of Palm Valley 303 in Goodyear, Arizona.
  
  
• The owners of numerous shopping centers located throughout Arizona, including Cornerstone at Queen Creek, Waddell Center West, Palm Valley Village Shopping Center, Palm Valley Pavilions West, Alameda Crossing and Palm Valley Cornerstone.
  
  
• Representation in the leasing of the ASU Research Park, a large research park located in Tempe, Arizona.

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

• A national bank in the workout, restructure and enforcement of real estate loans aggregating in excess of $1 billion to related entities on office, retail and multi-use projects throughout the United States.
  
  
• A national bank in the refinancing of loans to entities controlled by a regional auto dealership, which loans were cross-collateralized and cross defaulted and guaranteed by various affiliated entities.
  
  
• A financial institution in a tax-exempt bond transaction financing the construction of an airport hanger.
  
  
• A national bank in conducting an internal audit of more than 200 of its existing loan files.
  
  
• A national bank as construction lender on the conversion of Century Plaza, a 15-story office building in Phoenix, Arizona into residential condominium units, ancillary use areas (such as a recreation area) and first-floor retail space.
  
  
• A federal savings bank in the financing of an office building on Indian tribal land.

Recent development projects in which we have been involved include representation of:

• The developer of the Marina Heights project at Hayden Ferry Lakeside in Tempe, Arizona, involving an upscale hotel, multiple office towers, urban retail space and residential units.
  
  
• The developer of master planned, mixed-use projects in Phoenix, Arizona and Surprise, Arizona including auto park, office, retail and multi-family elements and requiring over $120 million in infrastructure improvements.
  
  
• The developer of a signature resort project on an Arizona State Land lease, including a 900+ room resort hotel, two golf courses, time share units and approximately $20 million in infrastructure improvements.
  
  
• Several school districts in the acquisition of property from the Arizona State Land Department and the donation of properties from developers.
  
  
• A national real estate investment trust in connection with the development of a multi-building industrial business park.
  
  
• Developers and homebuilders in master-planned communities including negotiating development agreements, processing zoning and plat approvals and assisting with infrastructure financing.

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