Our Land Use and Zoning attorneys advise on zoning matters, regulatory reviews and government entitlements related to land use and development.
We can guide a development project through the process from initial meetings with government officials, municipal departments, and community stakeholders to final approval and permitting. We advise on land use, annexation, economic redevelopment, affordable housing, and historic preservation issues. Our attorneys have worked on large- and small-scale multi-family, mixed use, commercial, institutional, and municipal entitlement projects. We have experience beyond the real estate development industry, specifically in health care, wireless communications, entertainment, manufacturing, and financial services. We also advise on development incentives such as tax increment financing (TIF), business districts, enterprise zones, and special service areas.
Our clients benefit from our knowledge of development trends and evolving regulations, including changes related to transit-oriented developments, affordable housing, and environmental sustainability. We have strong relationships with municipal officials that help us clear a path to success for our clients, navigating neighborhood concerns, municipal regulations, and political frameworks.
licensing/permitting
Our team regularly handles municipal permitting and licensing issues on behalf of clients. These matters include obtaining business and liquor licenses and approvals and permits required for business operations. We also advise clients regarding building code issues and represent them in business license, zoning and building code violation cases.
condemnation/eminent domain
Acquiring property through eminent domain remains essential to the achievement of important public projects, including light rail, highway, telecommunications and sewer construction, as well as commercial and residential development and redevelopment. Because property must be taken for these projects, however, the power of eminent domain also greatly affects the legal rights and investments of property owners.
With public projects at stake and property interests on the line, our attorneys have represented clients in all facets of condemnation/eminent domain cases and matters, from negotiating the value and scope of takings to ultimately trying cases in court before juries. We represent condemnors, developers, and property owners in condemnation/eminent domain proceedings, including projects involving urban redevelopment areas and tax increment financing (TIF). With our guidance, government agencies and developers have accomplished their complex projects and private landowners have maximized their ownership rights.
experience
Real Estate Land Use and Zoning
- Successfully served as counsel for the master developer of a 1,600-acre planned development in a Chicago collar county that involved negotiations with the county, surrounding municipalities, school and library districts, the forest preserve district and local sanitary district.
- Obtained approvals for hundreds of transit-oriented development (“TOD”) multi-family residential dwelling units in mixed use developments throughout Chicago and nearby municipalities.
- Serve as local land use counsel for a national retail chain, advising the client on due diligence, land use, permitting and signage issues.
- Obtained planned development approvals for national homebuilding companies for high-rise mixed-use developments.
- Handled all aspects of zoning, real estate and environmental due diligence with respect to the acquisition of more than 10 light-industrial properties as part of a $108 million acquisition.
- Successfully handled the development of an 80,000-square-foot senior residential building with approximately 85 units, ancillary uses, offices and parking.
Condemnation/Eminent Domain
- Successfully represented regional agencies in major public works and transportation projects, including the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, handling eminent domain proceedings, real estate purchase and sale agreements, easement and license acquisition and negotiation, bond financing, construction and construction management agreements, environmental issues and remediation, and mechanics’ lien claims and construction disputes.
- Represent owners and managers of multifamily apartment communities in eminent domain proceedings concerning highway and other roadway construction projects. The firm has handled dozens of cases for property owners before commissioners, juries, and special masters for total and partial takings.
- Represented developers and municipalities in a variety of TIF and Chapter 353 urban redevelopment projects, which have included property acquisitions for the Brentwood Promenade, a highly successful TIF project in St. Louis County.
- Experienced in all types of issues involved in shared rights-of-way with utilities, as well as the sophisticated right-of-way valuation process for railroads/utilities to include the assemblage of rights-of-way by purchase or condemnation.
- Represented a nationwide fast-food franchisor in over 500 transactions, including acquisition, disposition, condemnation, and property management.
