• Michael Svetich advises public and private companies, developers and lenders on commercial real estate transactions, including sales and acquisitions, joint ventures, recapitalizations, financings, refinancings, restructurings, workouts, sale-leasebacks, net leases, ground leases and master leases. Michael handles transactions throughout the United States across many asset classes, including multifamily, industrial, office, student housing, affordable housing, retail, mall and shopping center, data center, self-storage, hospitality, gaming, entertainment, experiential, and mixed-use properties.

    Michael has dedicated time to pro bono matters through Volunteers of Legal Services Inc. (VOLS) and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI). Prior to joining Kramer Levin, Michael worked with the real estate practices of a number of leading global law firms.

    Experience

    • Represented a private equity fund in the acquisition of interests in an office portfolio through the exercise of buy-sells in multiple joint ventures.

    • Represented the seller in the sale of 875 Sixth Ave. in midtown Manhattan.

    • Represented a family office in the acquisition and life sciences redevelopment of the Sears parcel at Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, New York.

    • Represented a private equity fund in the sale of four Florida hotels to a hospitality company.

    • Represented a real estate company in the acquisition of 685 Third Ave. in midtown Manhattan and the simultaneous sale of the fee interest.

    • Represented a private equity fund in the sale of 133 senior housing communities across the United States.

    • Represented a private REIT in the sale of a self-storage portfolio to a private equity fund.

    • Represented a joint venture between a real estate company specializing in multifamily properties and a privately held real estate investment fund in a joint venture with a global investment fund for a 421-a multifamily development at 26-32 Jackson Ave., Queens.

    • Represented an investment firm in the recapitalization of an existing 50-property, 2.2-million-square-foot industrial portfolio and a related programmatic joint venture.

    • Represented a private REIT in the negotiation of programmatic joint ventures for the acquisition and development of industrial assets in gateway cities across the United States.

    • Represented a real estate investment firm in a joint venture to acquire and redevelop contiguous properties in West Palm Beach.

    • Represented a privately held real estate company in joint ventures with various investors to redevelop Atlanta’s 244 Perimeter Center Parkway into an office, retail and hotel campus.

    • Represented a New York City-based global real estate company in an acquisition and development joint venture for 208 Barton Springs Rd. in Austin.

    • Represented a private REIT in the formation of a joint venture, including the roll-up of a seed portfolio of net leased transportation terminal and logistics properties.

    • Represented a Texas-based company in the acquisition and simultaneous ground leasing of approximately 95 acres of undeveloped land outside of Atlanta to fund a data center development.

    • Represented a public REIT in the fee acquisition of neighboring parcels in Austin and simultaneous ground leases providing the sponsor with the option for future funding in connection with multifamily development.

    • Represented a public REIT in a fee acquisition and simultaneous ground lease providing funding for the ground-up construction of a 421-a multifamily project in Brooklyn.

    • Represented a public REIT in multiple fee acquisition and ground lease transactions with forward funding commitments to facilitate the ground-up construction of multifamily and student housing projects in Colorado, Florida, Ohio and Tennessee.

    • Represented a public REIT in the fee acquisition and ground lease to facilitate the acquisition and renovation of 138 E. 38th St. in the Murray Hill submarket of Manhattan.

    • Represented a Dallas-based real estate development company in various ground lease transactions throughout Texas.

    • Represented a privately held real estate development, investment and management company in a construction loan from Wells Fargo and an EB-5 investment from Can-Am to build a ground-up mixed-use development in Brooklyn.

    • Represented a New York City-based global real estate company in the refinancing of Rosemary Square in West Palm Beach.

    • Represented a joint venture of a multifamily company and a global investment fund in financing from Brookfield for the development of 26-32 Jackson Ave. in Queens.

    • Represented a private equity fund in the restructuring of financing encumbering the La Quinta hotel chain.

    • Represented a New York City-based developer and a real estate investment firm in the redevelopment of a 200,000-square-foot school facility in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, to be leased to Dream Charter School.

    • Represented a landlord in the initial lease-up of a newly constructed 500,000-square-foot office and manufacturing building located at 25 Kent, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with anchor tenants Kith and Amazon Music.

    • Represented a New York City-based global real estate company in the leasing of The Shops at Hudson Yards and The Shops at Columbus Circle.

    • Represented a New York City-based investment management firm and a privately held real estate investment firm in a mezzanine foreclosure on multifamily properties located in Brooklyn.

    • Represented a global hospitality company as plaintiff in connection with its flagship Crown Plaza Hotel in Times Square.

    • Represented a real estate investment trust focused on shopping malls and a Chicago-based real estate investment company in the settlement of a breach of fiduciary duty claim under joint venture agreements for various U.S. shopping malls.

    Credentials

    Education

    • J.D. and LL.M., International and Comparative Law, Duke University School of Law, 2011
    • B.A., Economics, Political Science, and Mandarin (minor), University of Georgia, 2006

    Bar Admissions

    • New York, 2011