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Project Siting & Property Acquisition

Project siting and property acquisition are the crucial first steps in redevelopment projects, and as such require a deep understanding of local land use, zoning, and environmental regulations. Our team guides both private and public entities, including developers, investors, business owners and municipalities, through this foundational phase, helping them secure the right property on the right terms to mitigate risk and ensure a project's viability. We strategically partner with clients to provide comprehensive legal counsel that transforms a potential site into a shovel-ready opportunity. Our services are designed to protect our clients' interests and lay a solid groundwork for the entire development lifecycle.

Greenbaum’s services related to project siting and property acquisition include an in-depth analysis of a property’s zoning and its relationship to a municipality’s Master Plan, which includes permitted uses, dimensional requirements, and the specific approvals and variances that may be required. We manage the due diligence process to uncover potential liabilities, including title review, environmental assessment, and all site-specific physical constraints and regulatory hurdles. When a site is green-lighted, we handle the full spectrum of services related to property acquisition, including the negotiation and drafting of purchase and sale agreements, providing guidance on funding options and tax incentives, and closing the transaction. We have dedicated expertise related to the unique legal issues involved in acquiring property with a designated "area in need of redevelopment" and in securing approvals from redevelopment agencies. Our experience also includes structuring transactions for large-scale projects that require the phased acquisition of multiple parcels of land.

Representative Matters

  • Representing L’Oréal USA in a national real estate and environmental engagement supporting acquisitions, leasing, development, and operation of manufacturing and research facilities, including ISRA compliance, renewable energy and power off-take agreements, sustainability initiatives, and tax assessment matters. The firm’s recent work includes advising L’Oréal on the development and opening of its flagship New Jersey Research & Innovation facility, featuring an onsite solar microgrid, battery storage, EV charging infrastructure, and peak-shaving controls.
  • Advising Lightstar Renewables on the development of agrivoltaics, community solar, and grid-supply projects in New Jersey and the Northeast, including site acquisition, permitting, interconnection, incentive eligibility, financing, and power purchase agreements, with capital investments exceeding $100 million.
  • Representing The Ramani Group and its affiliates in the phased redevelopment of a $500 million, 1,300-unit mixed-use residential and retail project in Plainfield, including multi-site acquisitions, redevelopment agreements, planning approvals, and complex financing. The firm’s work includes securing $26 million in permanent financing, structuring a $60 million construction loan for Phase II, and advising on entity restructuring to satisfy lender collateral requirements. 
  • Serving as Special Redevelopment and Affordable Housing Counsel to the Municipality of Princeton on the redevelopment of the Princeton Seminary property, which includes the acquisition of more than six acres through eminent domain for $42 million, and planning for multiple affordable housing projects totaling more than $185 million.
  • Representing a national quick-service restaurant (QSR) franchisee in connection with multi-state real estate acquisitions and development projects, including transactions involving Starbucks-leased properties in South Carolina and multiple New Jersey investment properties.  
  • The firm has represented Federal Business Centers, Inc. in multiple complex acquisitions, dispositions, and financing transactions involving large-scale industrial and commercial properties throughout New Jersey, with aggregate transaction values exceeding $140 million. Jack’s representation has included a $49.75 million acquisition of a 12-building commercial complex structured as replacement property in a Section 1031 exchange; sales of contaminated and vacant industrial land involving ongoing remediation, post-closing access, and strict exchange timing requirements; and fixed-rate and construction financing transactions for major industrial facilities negotiated during volatile credit-market conditions. Additional work involved lease terminations, tenant estoppels and SNDAs, environmental risk allocation, demolition planning for redevelopment, resolution of pad-site and cell-tower lease issues, and coordination of lender, environmental, and insurance stakeholders.  
  • Guided a purchaser through the acquisition and adaptive reuse of a Newark commercial property into an art-storage warehouse, overseeing due diligence, land use approvals, environmental compliance, and refinancing.
  • In a cross-border transaction, represented a New Jersey-based purchaser in the acquisition of Virginia commercial property as replacement property in a complex Section 1031 exchange, negotiating purchase terms, reviewing a long-term Valvoline lease, addressing environmental compliance issues, and resolving closing conditions to complete the exchange.
  • The firm’s real estate and environmental teams collaborated on advising a real estate holding company on an $8 million industrial land acquisition supported by $22 million in mortgage financing, addressing environmental remediation trusts, riparian rights, title issues, and complex loan documentation.
  • Representing The Ramani Group’s single purpose entity in the redevelopment of a blighted commercial property into a 23-unit multifamily project, including acquisition, redevelopment and financial agreements with tax abatements, environmental and easement negotiations, zoning approvals, and construction financing. 
  • Represented the redeveloper of a multi-million-dollar mixed-use project in Linden comprised of 113 market-rate residential dwellings and over 16,000 square feet of retail space. Counsel included the preparation and negotiation of the redevelopment agreement and PILOT agreement, as well as coordination of the acquisition of private properties through agreement or condemnation by the City of Linden. 
  • Represented a national real estate company on environmental aspects of property acquisition and redevelopment, including negotiations with redevelopment agencies, for a major, multi-parcel mixed-use redevelopment project in Jersey City involving complex remediation and land use considerations.
  • Represented a leading real estate industry group in the development of its new headquarters, negotiating a redevelopment agreement with a local improvement authority and advising on land use approvals, tax incentives, environmental remediation, construction contracts, and site acquisition. 

Of Interest