Introduction
Jeff is a shareholder in Fredrikson & Byron’s Real Estate Group. His practice focuses on providing a full range of commercial real estate legal services and advice to major regional and national corporations, to REITs and other institutional holders of real estate, and to real estate developers. Jeff also has considerable expertise and experience in large, multi-property, multi-state real estate portfolio acquisitions and dispositions.
Jeff’s experience includes representing clients in the development and leasing of significant retail power centers. These transactions have included parcel assembly, construction and permanent financing, development of standard lease forms, anchor pad sales (including drafting and negotiating related reciprocal easement and operating agreements), and negotiating retail leases with large national tenants (big box and otherwise).
Education
- University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 1989, magna cum laude
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota, 1989
Practice Areas
Representative Experience
- Regional real estate counsel for large national REIT, including portfolio acquisition, disposition, leasing and development
- Lead real estate counsel for Fortune 500 public and Fortune 50 private companies, providing full service real estate representation and counsel with respect to all aspects of national property portfolios, including transactional representation (purchase, sale, exchange, leasing, subleasing and development) and development of real estate forms and best practices
- Representation of owner in structured transfer and leaseback transaction involving 1.1 million square foot landmark office tower
- Representation of purchaser in connection with acquisition and financing of 80+ store chain of gas station/convenience stores
- Representation of purchaser in connection with acquisition and financing of 60+ store chain of automotive service centers
- Representation of major healthcare organization in land acquisition, approvals, development and construction of regional hospital
- Representation of retail developer in connection with land assembly, development and leasing of large regional power center
- Representation of purchaser in $60 million portfolio acquisition of office and industrial properties
- Representation of seller in multi-property $70 million disposition, including exchange of properties for UPREIT partnership interests
- Representation of developer in connection with approvals for master-planned one million square foot mixed-use suburban development
- Representation of developer in site acquisition, approvals, development and leasing of 6-building office/technology park
- Representation of acquiring company in $300 million asset acquisition of national retail division, including the due diligence review and transfer of hundreds of owned and leased properties
- Representation of purchaser in acquisition of chain of supermarkets
Selected Publications & Presentations
- Panelist, “Strategies for Buying and Selling Distressed Commercial Real Estate: What Opportunities Lie Ahead,” 2011 Commercial Real Estate Forum, March 8, 2011
- “Section 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges: Safeguarding Exchange Proceeds,” FredNEWS: Real Estate, February 2010
Professional Activities
- National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP)
- Minnesota State Bar Association, Real Property Section
- Hennepin County Bar Association, Real Property Section
- International Council of Shopping Centers
- Minnesota Shopping Center Association
Honors & Distinctions
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America
- Real Property Law Specialist, certified by the Real Property Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association
- Minnesota Law Review, Member, Articles Editor
- Order of the Coif
