Kris E. Curran

My focus

I focus my practice on representing owners and developers in acquiring and developing office, industrial, multi-family and hotel properties. These transactions often include joint venture agreements and permanent, construction or mezzanine loan financing. My hotel industry experience includes acquisitions, sales and development of hotel properties and negotiation of hotel franchise agreements. I also represent hospitals and development companies in complex medical office building (MOB) development projects. These projects often involve under ground lease and air rights lease arrangements.

Representative experience

• Represented an Illinois-based hospital system in connection with the development of two medical office buildings. Both developments consisted of multi-story buildings with significant rentable areas constructed within air rights parcels. I advised clients on structuring the transactions, drafted and negotiated the air rights leases and handled all related documentation, including reciprocal easement agreements, cost sharing agreements and master leases.
• Represented Cook County Illinois in negotiating a redevelopment agreement with a private developer for the redevelopment of historic, Old Cook County Hospital and surrounding land with a phased development involving hotel, office and residential and retail uses. The first phase of the development involved the redevelopment and rehabilitation of Old Cook County Hospital into office and hotel uses under three separate ground leases
• Represented a national hotel chain in negotiating and documenting a joint venture agreement with a developer for the development and operation of a 296-room hotel in Austin Texas. Additionally, I represented the joint venture in negotiating and closing a $37 million construction loan for the project.
• Represented a major investment bank in connection with the mezzanine loan portion of a $52 million combined financing of a high-rise condominium development in Chicago's South Loop area.
• Represented a Chicago-based REIT in acquiring a portfolio of 18 industrial properties in a southwest suburb of Chicago. The combined acquisition price was $48 million.
• Represented a New York real estate investment fund in the sale of a Chicago high-rise apartment project for approximately $83 million.
• Represented a major health insurance company in sale/leaseback transactions of properties developed by the company and in lease transactions with third-party tenants in a downtown Chicago office building developed and owned by the company.
• A major investment bank in connection with realization of its collateral for a $22.5 million mezzanine financing for the construction of multi-use development in the Streeterville area of Chicago. This representation involved the negotiation of settlement agreements with the developer and the holder of the $49 million first mortgage on the property, along with completion of settlements with multiple mechanics lien claimants. As a result of these settlements, the client took title to the property by deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and is in the process of restarting construction of phase one of the project, which had been stalled by approximately 18 months of litigation prior to settlement.
• A major insurance company in the settlement of the foreclosure of a $30 million mortgage loan on a combination office/hotel complex. The settlement resulted in our client obtaining title to the property through the mechanism of a consent foreclosure judgment, which ended protracted and vigorously contested litigation.
• A Canadian insurance company in foreclosing on and/or taking title to a number of problem loans ranging from $1 million to $7 million. The loans were secured by various retail, office and apartment projects in the Chicago Metropolitan area.
• A major developer in connection with the settlement, by deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, of a defaulted construction mortgage loan on a multi-use downtown Chicago property valued in excess of $140 million which was held by a consortium of U.S. and foreign banks. The transaction resulted in the client and its partners being released from all guaranty obligations related to the loan.
• A major fund manager in the workout and restructuring of defaulted tax-exempt bond indebtedness related to failed real estate developments in numerous jurisdictions, particularly Colorado and Florida. His representation has included negotiating new bond issues to refund defaulted bonds, representing the client in “forcing out” developers of those projects and locating and installing new development entities in their place.

Looking ahead

The current healthy economy presents tremendous opportunities for developers of all manner of real estate products, particularly warehouse/distributor, residential and office uses.