Joint Ventures & Investments

Creative and nimble, we help you structure your real estate investments to maximize your success. From financing support (mortgage to mezz to preferred equity) to joint venture and fund structures, through acquisition, asset management and disposition, we provide the support you need no matter where you or your assets are.

Represented a publicly traded REIT in dozens of joint ventures, primarily project-specific office, industrial, retail, and medical office development joint ventures, but also programmatic development joint ventures and a joint venture to acquire an office portfolio structured as jointly owned private REITs with an exchange fund.
Advised a national real estate investment firm in its partnership with an affiliate of a U.S.-headquartered Fortune 500 global insurance company to launch a new REIT to deploy $1 billion to invest in ground leases in the top 50 U.S. markets.
Advised a financial services firm in the formation of a new commercial real estate loan origination platform in the form of a joint venture with an internally managed commercial real estate credit REIT, a leading commercial real estate developer, and a family-owned real estate investment holding company.
Represented a listed REIT in joint ventures with institutional investors to develop and manage commercial, multifamily, and retail properties.
Represented a listed REIT in a joint venture with institutional investors to acquire and manage timberlands.
Represented a leading investment manager in a single-family residence joint venture with a listed REIT.
Engaged by a publicly traded REIT to negotiate a minority investment by a foreign pension plan in three separate development properties. The representation included the negotiation of development agreements for development projects of $140 million, $80 million, and $70 million and the creation of a structure involving the formation of private REITs to indirectly own the properties.
Engaged by a publicly traded REIT to form a joint venture for development of 1,500 acres of land in Columbus, Ohio, for industrial warehouse purposes. The transaction involved a master development agreement with an airport authority to facilitate parcel takedowns under a participating master lease arrangement, and the master lease arrangement allocated development risk and facilitated the sharing of net cash flow between the venture and the airport authority.
Engaged by a private university to structure a development joint venture relationship with a publicly traded REIT to handle development of on-campus mixed-use residential and retail improvements.
Represented a state pension plan in a joint venture with a publicly traded self-storage REIT.

Structured a master development arrangement between a private development company and a publicly traded hotel REIT to facilitate the development of Hilton Garden Inns throughout the United States. The arrangement involved the formation of joint ventures to acquire land and develop hotel improvements and provided for a hotel operator take-out option upon completion.
Represented the developer in the formation of a joint venture with a large private equity fund to acquire a portfolio of industrial warehousing and distribution facilities with $800 million in equity capital commitments.
Represented the developer in the formation of a joint venture with a large private equity firm to develop a portfolio of speculative industrial warehouse facilities with $200 million in equity capital commitments.
Represented the developer in a joint venture relationship with a major life insurance company, a private equity fund, and a retail developer for the development of three separate mixed-use projects in the Midtown area of Atlanta involving combinations of retail, office, hotel, and residential components, including the 12th & Midtown project, a 2.5 million square-foot mixed-use development featuring a Class A office tower, a luxury hotel, residential condominiums, and premium retail components.
Negotiated mixing bowl joint ventures involving hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate investment and development, in which our pension investor client and a development REIT created 50/50 joint ventures with two subsidiaries, one for income properties and one for new developments. The property subsidiary holds mature office, retail, and medical projects and is controlled and managed by the pension investor, and the pension investor retains the majority share of income from its assets. The development subsidiary invests in new developments and turnaround opportunities and is managed by the REIT, and the pension investor participates in a minority share of income and profit from its assets. This deal reflects a novel way to transact with REITs and similar holders of real estate and permits the REIT to access capital without the dilutive effects of stock issuance.
Represented one of the country’s largest industrial developers, handling the formation of investment and development joint ventures with institutional investors for the acquisition and development of industrial real estate assets valued over $1 billion.
Created a master joint development program between two major industrial developers to pursue the acquisition and development of industrial warehouse properties in Foreign Trade Zones throughout the United States and its territories. The program involves creating form venture, development, management, leasing, and related agreements and establishing procedures for the pursuit of acquisition and development opportunities.
Represented a multifamily developer in a $600 million entity-level investment by an international private investment fund.
Created tax-efficient investment partnerships as holding vehicles for the worldwide investments of one of the largest insurance companies in the world, including vehicles for U.S., Latin American, Western European, Eastern European, Japanese, and Korean single-asset and fund investments. The partnerships were also created to enable the key employees of each region to be compensated through the investment partnerships in the most tax-efficient manner.
Engaged by a private equity fund to structure a limited partnership arrangement with an operating partner to acquire a portfolio of six multifamily properties in Houston.
Negotiated four programmatic joint ventures on behalf of an industrial client with a state pension plan. Two of the ventures involved the acquisition of identified core portfolios. One venture involved the acquisition of additional core properties. The last venture involved the acquisition and development of opportunistic and value-add properties.
Engaged by a private equity fund to structure a limited partnership arrangement involving our client as a 95 percent limited partner and a local developer as a 5 percent general partner for the acquisition of land and development of an office building in Washington, D.C.
Represented a major hotel developer in a joint venture for, and development of, a luxury resort and marina in Puerto Rico.
Structured joint ventures for an international lodging company, enabling it to monetize interests in luxury hotels valued over $200 million in gateway cities on a tax-deferred basis.

Highlights

                            Press Release
                                                    June 2, 2022
                        Alston & Bird Strengthens Real Estate Finance & Investment Group with Addition of Partner Stephen D. Peterson
                    
                                Alston & Bird has strengthened its Real Estate Finance & Investment Group with the addition of partner Stephen D. Peterson in Atlanta. Peterson brings more than 25 years of experience advising clients on commercial real estate capital raises, development, and finance.
                            