Industries: Construction

Transactional: Preparing & Negotiating Contract Documents

In negotiating and documenting construction contracts, we have worked with all of the major professional and industry forms, including those of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA), the Associated General Contractors (AGC), the Engineers Joint Contracts Documents Committee (EJCDC), the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), and the Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils (FIDIC).

With customized documents in industrial and energy applications, we have helped many clients where such industry forms are typically not employed. We have drafted hundreds of contracts for various aspects of construction, particularly to protect clients from project risks. In addition, we can quickly evaluate draft agreements, assess the risk allocation in those documents, and provide alternative language to reallocate such risks.

We understand the range of delivery options, including design/build (D/B), design/build operate maintain (D/BOM), build-own-transfer (BOT), build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT), general contractor, construction manager (CM), program manager (PM), and engineer-procure-construct (EPC or turnkey), and the risks inherent in each. We are experienced in the related issues of bidding documents, completion guarantees, performance guarantees, construction lending, credit enhancement, mechanics’ liens, and related remedies.

We also appreciate the effect that public private partnerships, privatization, international agencies, and lending institutions such as OPIC, the Export-Import Bank, and real estate development can have on the construction process, and we have worked on many projects involving those issues. Colleagues in the firm's congressional and government agency relations practice often assist in fostering such business opportunities for clients, and with bidding and procurement issues.

Representative Work

Commercial Construction Projects

• Representation of owners for construction of corporate HQ and other office buildings in Virginia (eight recent projects), North Carolina (two recent projects), and Kansas.
• Representation of developer/owners of new hotels in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Georgia.
• Representation of localities for parking garages, fire stations, and convention centers in Virginia.
• Representation of owners in a new hospital construction and expansion in Illinois (four recent projects), and Virginia (two recent projects).
• Representation of museum foundations for new facilities in Virginia (five recent projects).
• Representation of the lead arrangers in connection with $100 million construction loan facility to real estate investment trust with large portfolio of office, retail and industrial assets.
• Representation of an agent bank in $52 million syndicated construction loan for medical research complex in Frederick, Md.
• Representation of an agent bank in $194 million syndicated construction loan for office building consisting of fee and ground lease property in Washington, D.C.
• Representation of a regional bank in $87 million construction and renovation loan secured by mixed-use retail and residential project in Arlington, Va.
• Representation of a national bank in $80 million construction loan for two hotel properties in Brentwood, Md.
• Representation of a national bank in restructure of $49 million construction loan for high-rise condominium project in Nashville, Tenn.
• Representation of a national bank in workout and restructure of $87 million construction loan secured by big box retail center in Leesburg, Va.

University & School Projects

• Representation of colleges and universities for new housing and athletic facilities in Illinois, and Virginia (seven recent projects).
• Representation of a private high school for construction of expansion facilities.

Residential Projects

• Representation of developer/owners for construction in Virginia (three recent projects), North Carolina, and Maryland.
• Consulted on various public-private partners (PPEA) projects.
• Representation of developer/owners for construction projects in California and Florida.
• Representation of developer in a mixed-use five-story building consisting of business, retail, and residential space.

Industrial & Energy Projects

• Representation of a Fortune 500 energy company in construction of a new LNG facility in Maryland.
• Representation of a Fortune 500 energy company in development of new Marcellus shale processing facilities in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
• Representation of a company for construction of food processing plants in California and North Carolina and of a major coffee company for roasting plant in South Carolina.
• Representation of a major industrial company for water treatment facilities in Jordan and Gaza.
• Representation of developers for a metrorail station in Florida and a toll bridge in Virginia.
• Representation of owners for construction of a distribution warehouse for a major retailer and manufacturing facilities for furniture companies in North Carolina and a jet engine plant in Virginia.
• Representation of localities for water system and waste water treatment projects in Virginia.
• Representation of electric utilities and independent power producers for construction or modification of the following facilities:
  • More than 1,500 MW of solar facilities ranging from rooftop solar to utility scale concentrated solar power in California, Arizona, Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
  • More than 500 MW of smaller biomass renewable power generation (wood, landfill gas and other biomass) in Virginia, Vermont, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Alabama, and Massachusetts.
  • More than 1,000 MW of wind energy in Virginia, Indiana, North Dakota, and Kansas.
  • More than 3,000 MW of new coal-fired power plants in Mississippi, Louisiana, Virginia, and West Virginia.
  • More than 5,000 MW of new gas fired peaking and combined cycle power plants in Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Oklahoma, California, Alabama, Mississippi, Washington, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
  • More than 600 MW of new hydroelectric facilities in West Virginia, Virginia and Ohio.
  • Rehabilitation, environmental retrofits and upgrades, and life extensions to nuclear plants, coal-fired plants, and inside-the-fence energy production for industrial plants in Virginia, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
  • New 1,500 MW nuclear unit.