Morrison & Foerster’s Global Real Estate Group expands presence into Boston

Boston, MA Morrison & Foerster’s Global Real Estate Group has expanded its presence into Boston. Three members of the firm’s leading real estate practice are now located at 75 Arlington St. in the city’s Back Bay neighborhood.

Real estate partner Thomas McGovern is leading the expansion. He is joined by counsel Guy McPherson and associate Joshua Pierce. McGovern’s practice involves all areas of real estate law, with a focus on commercial property finance. His clients include institutional lenders, owners and developers of major commercial properties.

“We have longstanding relationships with many financial institutions doing business in Boston and the greater New England area and have national and global clients operating throughout the region. We’re bullish about the New England economy and look to be a go-to counsel for projects across the region – having a full-time team in place is just a logical next step for us,” said Mark Edelstein, chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Real Estate practices.

He added: “In fact, we already handle many sophisticated transactions throughout the area from our New York base, so enhancing our capabilities by placing Tom, Guy, and Josh closer to the action just makes sense.” Mr. Edelstein continued to say he expects the real estate team to flourish in the months ahead.

Morrison & Foerster’s real estate group has expertise across a broad spectrum, including multi-tiered financings, property acquisitions and dispositions, development transactions, leases, and restructurings. The firm’s clients include lenders, developers, equity investors, and REITs, and cross the full range of property types, including office, commercial, condo, industrial, multi-family, and hospitality.

In Boston, the firm recently closed on the $177 million construction financing for a mixed-use, condominium, residential rental and retail project located in the Fenway section of Boston, which transaction involved senior bank financing coupled with subordinate EB-5 debt.

“The New England real estate market has been especially active and shows no signs of a slow-down,” said McGovern, a native of New England who has been a partner in the firm’s New York office. “By establishing a presence in Boston, we can better serve existing clients and capitalize on new opportunities. Our team here will benefit from the significant support of the firm’s global real estate group.”  McGovern expects to maintain a strong connection to New York and plans to continue to spend significant time there going forward.

The Boston expansion is just the latest growth news coming out of the firm’s real estate practice, where it is expanding in multiple business centers across the United States. In early September,Morrison & Foerster welcomed Lauren Bellerjeau, a hybrid real estate/corporate lawyer with significant REIT experience, to its Washington, D.C. office. It also added real estate counsel Soo Lim to that office.  This news comes on the heels of recent expansion of the firm’s California real estate practice, with five new attorneys being added this fall, including the arrival of Of Counsel Irv Hepner. And the New York office has also been adding new real estate lawyers at a steady clip.

Morrison & Foerster has represented institutions providing billions of dollars in financing and investment for real estate acquisition, development, and construction in the past year. Some of the most recent notable transactions include advising on the $4.55 billion acquisition for Global Logistic Properties Ltd. (GLP) of a portfolio of U.S. warehouse properties from Industrial Income Trust – which will make GLP the second largest owner of U.S. logistics properties; the $860 million financing for Goldman Sachs and Hines Interests of the MOMA Tower in New York City; the $965 million financing for the lenders of the new Time Warner Building in the Hudson Yards development in New York; the $830 million acquisition and pre-development loan for JPMorgan of the HFZ Highline building on Manhattan’s West side; advising on the formation of a joint venture for development of 41-story residential tower in downtown San Francisco; and the representation of the lender in a $190 million construction loan for a mixed-use hotel, residential, and retail project in West Hollywood, among others.