Overview

Nick’s practice is focused on real estate development, corporate real estate services and real estate finance. In real estate development and finance, Nick handles transactions for owner-developers, corporations, lending institutions, non-profit institutions and individuals. He has assisted clients in purchasing, selling, leasing, financing and developing real property for retail, industrial, office and residential uses. In addition, he is experienced in the formation of business entities dealing with real estate, including limited liability companies, joint ventures and limited partnerships. In his corporate real estate practice Nick works with companies and institutions whose primary business interests lay outside the real estate industry, such as banking and retail, focusing his efforts on single-occupant developments for corporate clients.

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Experience

SUMMARY OF RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• Represented developer in connection with the redevelopment of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

• Represented privately held corporation in a $20,000,000 sale leaseback of a portfolio of properties across multiple states.

• Represented developer in a $12,000,000 historic rehab project involving the conversion of a 100,000 square foot warehouse into 45 apartments. The project utilized federal and state historic tax credits and real estate tax abatement. Assisted with all aspects of making the project eligible for historic tax credits, securing such tax credits, negotiating with tax credit investors and satisfying the requirements of the real estate tax abatement program.

• Represented developer in an $18,000,000 project involving the construction of a 140-room hotel and ancillary improvements, utilizing New Market Tax Credits and Tax Increment Financing.

• Represented developer in a $35,000,000 project involving the conversion of a 175,000 square foot former industrial building into apartments and retail. The project utilized federal and state historic tax credits, new market tax credits, and tax increment financing.

• Represented a private company in a stock sale to a publicly held company for $150,000,000.

• Represented developer on the land acquisition and lease negotiations of a build-to-suit retail project for a Fortune 500 end user.

• Represented developer in its acquisition of vacant land via foreclosure sale and negotiated a ground lease for developer of such land with a Fortune 500 end user.

• Represented developer on the sale of a ground lease whereby the buyer utilized a 1031 exchange.

• Drafted, negotiated and finalized retail leases totaling approximately 80,000 square feet for a shopping center in northeast Ohio, purchased and rehabilitated by a developer client.

• Represented closely-held corporation, in its capacity as tenant, on its retail leasing activities, totaling approximately 400,000 square feet, spanning numerous transactions over a 24-month period.

• Represented limited partnership in the rezoning and sale of vacant land whereby the rezoning issue went to referendum and faced strong opposition from local residents.

• Negotiated and closed on a $3,000,000 sale of vacant land with one of the nation’s largest home builders on behalf of a developer client.

• Represented developer through the entitlement process for developing a residential subdivision in a northeastern Ohio suburb. Drafted homeowners’ association documents for the subdivision and drafted and negotiated numerous purchase agreements on behalf of developer with builders and owners purchasing vacant lots in the subdivision.

• Represented closely-held corporation in its $9,000,000 acquisition of a warehouse located in a northeastern Ohio suburb whereby several lot splits and easements were necessary to separate the property from a larger parcel.

• Drafted and negotiated reciprocal easement agreements for developer client involved with retail development projects.

• Represented closely-held corporation in its negotiation and execution of licensing agreements and exclusive distribution agreements.

• Represented lender on loan documentation for a $4,000,000 acquisition loan by borrower purchasing a multi-family asset.

• Represented multiple borrowers on refinancing of various properties whereby life insurance companies and conventional financing sources were utilized.

• Represented borrower in a $7,000,000 refinance of a multi-family property in Cleveland, Ohio.

Recognition

• 2018-2020 – Selected for inclusion in the 2018-2020 editions of The Best Lawyers in America©. Listed in the current edition for Real Estate Law.
• November 2015 – In its November 23, 2015 issue, Crain’s Cleveland Business named Nick R. Catanzarite to its “Forty Under 40” list. Nick was recognized, along with other young Northeast Ohio professionals under the age of 40, for his achievements and leadership in the region’s business community.
• In its 2015 Annual Report, Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, Inc. named Nick Catanzarite its 2015 Ambassador of the Year. According to the organization, Nick “…was an important advocate for Goodwill in 2015, helping us spread the Goodwill message to elected officials and the business community in Cuyahoga County, specifically in the City of Strongsville. His advocacy work, negotiation on our behalf, and belief in the Goodwill model resulted in our securing a store and donation center location in Strongsville – and subsequently, a greater mission services presence there, too.”

 

Articles

• Behind the Scenes of the $500 Million Redevelopment of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Akron Revitalization Continues as Goodyear Hall Renovation Nears Completion

Presentations

• Presented at Real Estate Law Institute, 2015

Associations

• American Bar Association – Real Property and Business Law Sections
• Ohio State Bar Association – Corporate Counsel Section
• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association – Real Estate Law Section
• Urban Land Institute
• National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) – Developing Leader