Phil is a partner in our Real Estate Transactions Practice Group, helping developers, asset managers, institutional investors, data centers and private funds navigate complex real estate transactions. He focuses his practice on all aspects of commercial real estate, including acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, construction financing, and asset management.
Phil is a closer – having closed over a billion dollars in acquisitions, financings, and dispositions. Phil has extensive experience working with developers to bring projects to life, from acquiring land to securing construction loans, leasing assets, and managing ultimate dispositions. He also advises clients on capital raising, including structuring equity stacks, joint ventures, syndications, and private fund offerings. Phil’s development practice spans a wide variety of asset classes, including multi-family, retail, industrial, and data center development.
In addition to dirt level transactional real estate work, Phil is skilled in navigating a wide range of issues related to financing, securities exemptions, and private placement documentation. He represents these developers and syndicators in building their capital stack on both a local and national scale.
Phil is the founder and host of the popular “Real Estate for Breakfast” podcast, where he interviews leaders across the real estate industry to discuss trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the market today.
- Representation of the owner/developer of a mixed-use multifamily and retail project in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, leading a cross-border joint venture, capital raise from limited partners and a $15.5 million construction loan, and negotiating a flagship ground-floor retail lease with Foxtrot.
- Representation of a developer in the $40 million sale of a newly constructed multifamily property in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood, serving as lead counsel from initial acquisition of a vacant site through development, construction financing and ultimate disposition.
- Representation of a developer in the $28.5 million sale of a mixed-use multifamily and retail development in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, including rooftop recreational amenities, advising from site acquisition and demolition through construction financing and disposition.
- Representation of a sponsor developer in a joint venture for the acquisition and redevelopment of a vacant office building in Chicago’s River North/Gold Coast into residential use, structuring a complex partnership with co-developer and investors utilizing 1031 exchange proceeds, and advising on acquisition and construction financing.
- Representation of a financial institution in a multijurisdictional portfolio acquisition exceeding $100 million arising from a breach of a servicing indemnity, including execution of a $42 million phase-one closing under a year-end deadline, in coordination with a cross-practice team.
- Lead real estate counsel for a liquidation trust established to benefit creditors and investors affected by a massive Ponzi scheme, responsible for overseeing the disposition of mixed-use real estate assets valued in the hundreds of millions across the Eastern Seaboard.
- Counsel for a developer creating 20-30 triple-net lease assets in upstate New York, overseeing land acquisition, construction financing, triple-net leasing, and asset disposition, including the sale of a 10-unit portfolio to a REIT buyer.
- Lead counsel for the acquisition and development of over 30 Montessori schools across the country. The work included handling the acquisition of existing facilities in redevelopment plays as well as raw land ground-up development, negotiation of construction financing, leasing on a pure triple net basis, and subsequent disposition of assets.
- Representation of Sponsor for a real estate Growth Fund for investors to invest in real estate value add and development plays, including the creation of syndication/subscription documents, fund operating agreements, fundraising ancillary documents, and PPM, as well as handling the acquisition and disposition work for the Fund.
- Counsel for ground-up multi-family development on Grand Avenue in Chicago near the anticipated Bally’s Casino. The work included the acquisition of existing improvements, coordination with separate land use counsel, acquisition loan followed by refinance to $30 million construction loan, and syndication documents for GP and LP groups, and negotiation with preferred equity investor group.
- Representation of a client in the negotiation and handling of the $45 million construction finance of industrial property in Indiana, including negotiation of third-party development agreement.
Podcasts
Insights
- Author, "Does Metaverse Real Estate Have Value?," Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Journal, Fall/Winter 2021
- Author, "A Practical Guide to Distressed Debt Acquisition: The Illinois Example," The Real Estate Finance Journal, Winter 2020
- Named, “Rising Star: Real Estate,” Super Lawyers, 2018-2022
- Named, “Emerging Lawyer,” Leading Lawyers, 2021
- Named, “Leading Lawyer – Emerging Leader in Commercial Litigation, Real Estate Law and Finance,” 2021
- Named, “Rising Star: Business Litigation,” Super Lawyers, 2013-2018
- Selected for Inclusion, “Who’s Who,” Top Attorneys in North America, 2015