"Jeffrey has exceptional legal skills and has equally strong business judgment." - Benesch client, Chambers USA
"[Jeffrey is] a very strong lawyer and a good communicator."- Benesch client, Chambers USA
Jeffrey focuses his practice on commercial real estate matters, with an emphasis on development, acquisitions, dispositions, financing and joint venture work. He represents large public Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), institutional investors, lenders, borrowers, private equity funds, family offices and other public and private investors, as well as developers and owners of commercial real estate.
Jeffrey's extensive experience extends to large-scale development projects and corporate real estate, including the development, financing, leasing, acquisition and disposition of retail, office, industrial and residential properties. His representation includes drafting and negotiating purchase agreements, leases, joint venture agreements, loan documents, easements and other related real estate documentation, as well as coordinating all real estate due diligence. Regularly handling high-stake deals, Jeffrey has successfully closed transactions ranging from $1 million to in excess of $500 million.
Jeffrey also has deep experience in multi-site portfolio acquisitions, complex joint venture structuring, sale-leaseback transactions, mixed-use developments, loan workouts and distressed real estate matters. Additionally, Jeffrey advises clients broadly on a range of general real estate, corporate and business matters, including corporate formation and governance, corporate facilities and asset management, preparing and negotiating contracts, capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, construction agreements, real estate taxation, commercial lending, debt restructuring, land use and eminent domain.
Jeffrey has been named a Leading Lawyer in Real Estate Law by Chambers USA since 2011 and a Best Lawyer in Real Estate Law honoree by The Best Lawyers in America® since 2008. Additionally, he was recognized as a Thomson Reuters Stand-Out Lawyer in 2024.
Outside of the office, Jeffrey is civically involved as Chair of the Board of Directors of Cleveland Development Advisors (an affiliate of the Greater Cleveland Partnership), a Trustee of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, a member of the Board of Directors of the Cleveland International Fund, President of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland and a member of the Board of Governance of the Jewish Agency for Israel, to name a few. Additionally, he is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the Urban Land Institute, the Wexner Heritage Leadership Institute and the National Young Leadership Cabinet of United Jewish Communities.
Representative Experience
- Represented a large, NYC-based private equity fund on the portfolio acquisition of numerous apartment communities located in the greater Denver, CO area. The transaction involved roughly 1,350 units spread across multiple properties and was valued at approximately $225 million.
- Represented a prominent national developer on the ground leasing, joint venture structuring, financing, development, and construction of a 350+ unit luxury apartment development valued at more than $100 million as part of a larger master planned mixed-used project in Pittsburgh, PA.
- Represented one of the nation’s largest multifamily owners in connection with numerous dispositions of apartment complexes throughout Michigan, having an aggregate transaction value in excess of $60 million. The sale transactions each included the defeasance of existing debt.
- Represented a leading international investment and management firm in a transfer of membership interests to transfer 7 underlying real properties, involving a total value of more $51 million.
- Represented a national multifamily investment firm in its sale and recapitalization of a $160+ million multifamily property in New England encumbered by Agency debt.
- Represented one of the nation’s largest multifamily housing developers in the sale of a $109 million multifamily property in Florida.
- Represented a private developer in connection with the $43 million construction financing of a student housing development in Gainesville, Florida, as well as all aspects of a complicated joint venture structure with the main equity partner, a national leader in student housing management. Due to certain requirements of certain equity investors/owners undergoing tax deferred 1031 exchanges, it was necessary to setup the transaction as a tenancy in common structure, which involved a more complicated overall structure due to various considerations that had to be taken into account to comply with IRS rules and regulations, along with a tenancy in common agreement to document the foregoing, all of which complicated matters with our construction financing.
- Represented the seller of a seven property market rate apartment portfolio in Florida for a sales price in excess of $103 million.
- Represented a multi-faceted redevelopment of an existing shopping center located in the Chicago, IL area that encompasses nearly 700,000 square feet. The project includes a land sale to a prominent national retailer that owns an adjacent parcel to allow for a store expansion by that retailer, as well as significant related site work. Benesch is coordinating all aspects of the redevelopment and transaction for the client.
- In 2020, Benesch exclusively represented Site Centers Corp. on all lease amendments throughout Site’s portfolio required as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.