The Wall Street Street Journal quoted Joshua Stein in its July 4, 2023 article, "Office Turmoil Roils Ground Lease Negotiations." In a commercial real estate market facing high interest rates and a post-pandemic weak return-to-office rate, Stein commented, "If I am a ground-lease tenant, right now is probably a good time to be doing a rent reset," adding "The value of land is declining dramatically." Because of recent steep ground rent increases "There have been a lot of horror stories" in the world of ground leases.
Digital lifestyle and women’s apparel brand Something Navy signed a lease for its first brick-and-mortar location on NYC’s Bleecker Street, which has attracted a number of online businesses opening physical locations. Joshua Stein PLLC represented the landlord.
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For the 24th consecutive year, Joshua Stein chaired Practising Law Institute’s Commercial Real Estate Financing seminar in New York City on March 31 - April 1, 2020. Topics discussed included the state of the financing market, who's lending where, new clauses and issues in loan documents, ground lease financing, distressed loans, workout negotiations, and hot topics in finance including HVCRE concerns and funding structures.
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Who’s Who Legal: Real Estate 2020 recognized Joshua Stein as one of 13 "Global Elite Thought Leaders" from the United States. Stein is the only one in the group not in a large firm. Lawyers are chosen from independent surveys with private practice lawyers and general counsel worldwide. Click the link below to view the survey.
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On September 24, Joshua Stein moderated the Mortgage Bankers Association of New York luncheon program Trends & Developments in Mortgage Loan Workouts & Enforcement. Luncheon speaker, Richard Fries, senior real estate partner at Sidley Austin LLP, discussed defaults, loan acceleration, guaranty enforcement, receivership, lender liability, workout “hot tips,” a template forbearance agreement, and deed-in-lieu strategies.
Joshua Stein has edited and contributed almost half the chapters and sample documents of the newly revised Third Edition of Commercial Leasing, published by the New York State Bar Assocition. The two-volume treatise covers the full range of commercial lease negotiations, with an emphasis on preventing unpleasant surprises and matching the lease to the overall business agendas of the parties. For more information and to place an order via the NYSBA website, click the first link below. Click the second link to examine the Table of Contents.
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Credit Agricole engaged Joshua Stein PLLC to negotiate and close a loan in the Miami Design District. Joshua Stein and JSPLLC counsel Debora L. Goldman handled the transaction. They have closed a series of Miami Design District loans for Credit Agricole, dating back to 2011.
For Aristone Capital, Joshua Stein PLLC developed a simplified template for junior/senior participation agreements, and then, with that template, closed a series of participation transactions.
For a mixed-use development on a large site near the USS Yorktown in Charleston, South Carolina, Joshua Stein acted as special ground lease counsel with the developer’s South Carolina legal team. He advised on and reviewed the ground lease for the overall project and helped create a structure for the phased development process. The Patriots Point Development Authority signed definitive documents in mid-April.
Joshua Stein PLLC represented the acquirer of several ground-leased office buildings in Midtown Manhattan, including negotiating a ground lease and partly nondisturbed sublease structure. Joshua Stein oversaw the transaction with help from of counsel Deborah Goldman and associate James Patalano.
Joshua Stein PLLC represented the New York Stem Cell Foundation in negotiating its new 41,000-foot lease at 619 West 54th Street. Joshua Stein and Lauren Silk handled the lease on a pro bono basis. Joshua has acted as pro bono real estate counsel for the Foundation since its founding in 2005.
Joshua Stein PLLC represented a national developer of distribution centers in all its New York area acquisitions and financings, and is now handling two more for the same client. Of counsel Deborah Goldman and associate James Patalano work with Joshua Stein on these transactions.
Joshua Stein PLLC represented the tenant in negotiating movie theater leases all over the United States. This work continues as the firm represents that client in pursuing more leases. Of counsel Deborah Goldman handles most of this work with continued oversight by Joshua Stein.
Joshua Stein PLLC continues to represent a major Midtown Manhattan office building in all its leasing, including several full-floor or larger leases in the last few months. Of counsel Lauren Silk works with Joshua Stein on these transactions. She also updates and improves the building-specific lease template after each negotiation. The resulting document protects the landlord without requiring excessive negotiations, and aligns with the client’s strategy for leasing and operating the building.
Joshua Stein was appointed to the board of the Mortgage Bankers Association of New York, www.mbany.org. He will continue to chair MBA’s education committee, which he has done for more than five years.
Deborah Goldman, Of Counsel at Joshua Stein PLLC, has been appointed as a downstate co-chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Commercial Leasing Committee. Working with upstate co-chair Sujata Yalamanchili and additional downstate co-chair Robert J. Shansky, Goldman will help coordinate the committee’s quarterly meetings and special projects. She brings to her new post almost 25 years of experience in commercial real estate law, with an emphasis on leasing, as well as an MBA in real estate finance.
Two of Joshua Stein's publishers have exited the book publishing business, leaving him with the rights to two of his titles: Lender's Guide to Structuring and Closing Commercial Mortgage Loans (2004) and A Guide to Ground Leases (With Forms and Checklists) (2005). Stein plans to write second editions of each of those books and publish them himself. In preparation for that process, comments and suggestions from readers and potential readers are invited. Please direct any comments or suggestions to joshua@joshuastein.com.