Martin Luskin

Biography

CO-CHAIR, NEW YORK OFFICE

Marty Luskin maintains a national reputation for counseling clients in complex commercial real estate transactions, including mergers and leveraged buy-outs of publicly traded REITS. He represents a wide range of clients, including real estate investment trusts, real estate advisers, financial institutions, developers, and universities with respect to:

  • Acquisitions and privatizations of publicly traded REITs
  • Sales and acquisitions of premier office buildings, shopping centers, and apartment complexes (including affordable housing properties) around the country
  • Joint ventures, partnerships, and limited liability companies
  • Commercial leases for retail, office, and warehouse space
  • Financing of multi-state portfolio transactions, including those involving securitized mortgages, loan syndications, and mezzanine debt
  • Recapitalizations of portfolios

Marty previously served on the firm’s Executive Committee and served as chair of the firm’s Real Estate and Financial Services Department.

Chambers USA recognizes Marty as a “knowledgeable and responsive attorney with a wide-ranging real estate practice.” Clients stated that he is “exceptional” and a “creative problem-solver who gets deals done,” and also noted that “he knows how to compromise and provides thorough legal reviews,” is “very congenial, smart,” and “his advice is invaluable.” “Savvy and practical,” it is also noted that Marty “has plenty of experience, is efficient and can cut through the complications while still giving comprehensive analysis.”

Marty is often called upon by the media to comment on high profile matters of interest to the real estate community. Lectures include: Negotiation of the Documents Before the Closing, IMN Summit on Real Estate M&A, Private Equity & REIT Privatization, Anatomy of a Real Estate Deal for Lorman Education Services, and Real Estate Issues Related to Expansion of Facilities for The Institute for International Research. Marty authored “Understanding the Role of CFIUS in Real Estate Transactions with Foreign Buyers and Lenders” and “Real Estate Construction Financing: The Pitfalls of the Tri-Party Agreement,” for The Real Estate Finance Journal.

Outside the Firm

Marty was born in Havana, Cuba, and is proficient in Spanish.

Experience

  • Triple net leasing of several warehouse and distribution facilities, typically in excess of 100,000 square feet, for Max Finkelstein, Inc., a nationally-recognized distributor of vehicular tires, with institutional landlords such as Duke Realty, Exeter Realty, Clover Property, Kirkwood Investors, and others.
  • Sale of Brooklyn waterfront property on behalf of the seller to the City of New York for development into a City park.
  • Sale of two New York City multifamily properties, co-owned by Global One Real Estate Fund LP and L&M Development Partners, Inc., which were regulated by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
  • $238 million purchase and financing of 1670 Broadway, Denver, CO, an iconic office tower in downtown Denver anchored by TIAA, by a South Korean investment bank advised by real estate firm and investment adviser JM Capital.
  • Acquisition by L+M Development Partners of 257–271 South Street, a 19-story residential property consisting of 260,000 square feet located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
  • Roll out of New York City bank locations for Republic First Bank.
  • Sale by a partnership consisting of George Comfort & Sons, DRA Advisors LLC, and RCG Longview—owners of the iconic Worldwide Plaza in midtown Manhattan—of its ownership interests in the property to New York REIT. The property was valued in excess of $1.35 billion.
  • Restructure of existing indebtedness and pre-packaged bankruptcy on behalf of the owner of the iconic “Lipstick Building” in New York City.
  • Acquisition of an office park located outside Washington, D.C., from Boston Properties involving CFIUS Review. The purchase was financed with a loan from Natixis of $215 million. The entire property is leased to the U.S. Government.
  • $1.8 billion term loan and $250 million credit facility amendment to extend a senior secured credit facility on behalf of Capital Automotive, the nation’s leading specialty finance company for automotive retail real estate.
  • $571.5 million purchase of 27 properties consisting of 6,294 units located throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.
  • Acquisition, sale, and financing of over a thousand affordable housing units on behalf of L&M Development Partners and Nelson Management.

REITs

  • Representation of DRA Advisors in the acquisition of a portfolio consisting of 34 grocery-anchored shopping centers across various states from Cedar Realty Trust for an aggregate purchase price in excess of $880 million.
  • $70 million acquisition and financing of ground lease and shopping center in Honolulu, Hawaii, on behalf of a publicly-traded REIT.
  • $3.4 billion acquisition by DRA Advisors LLC, and privatization of Capital Automotive REIT, involving 400 properties in 31 states.
  • Structure and negotiation of an agreement for the sale of Capital Automotive by DRA Advisors LLC and certain funds advised by DRA to affiliates of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a New York Stock Exchange-listed REIT.
  • $1.7 billion acquisition of CRT Properties, Inc., a publicly traded office REIT involving more than 100 buildings, by a fund.
  • $1.1 billion acquisition of a publicly-traded retail REIT involving more than 30 shopping centers by PL Retail LLC.
  • Sale to Kimco Realty Corporation, a publicly-traded REIT, of 85% interest in an $825 million retail portfolio consisting of 21 shopping center properties located in seven states.

Portfolio Transactions

  • $908.5 million acquisition of a 16.3-million-square-foot industrial portfolio consisting of 81 properties across 17 markets from Sealy & Company, a real estate investment and operating firm.
  • $205 million acquisition and financing by DRA Advisors LLC of a 3.3 million-square-foot industrial portfolio located in 15 states and consisting of 27 net-leased properties.
  • $155 million acquisition and financing by the buyer of an 824,000-square-foot, three-building office portfolio, including one ground leased building, located in Paramus, NJ.
  • $750 million sale of a 57-property, 9.8-million-square-foot industrial portfolio, by DRA Advisors LLC. This transaction presented many complex challenges, including obtaining clearance for the buyers from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
  • $1.7 billion purchase by DRA Advisors LLC of a portfolio comprised of 25,684 apartment homes in 86 communities located in 10 states.
  • $600 million purchase by DRA Advisors LLC and Westcore of an 11.1 million-square-foot industrial property portfolio consisting of 110 properties located throughout three states.
  • $477 million purchase from UDR, Inc. of 14 multifamily communities located in Arizona, Florida, Texas and Virginia.
  • $382.4 million purchase of an industrial portfolio comprised of 52 industrial properties, aggregating approximately 9.6 million square feet, located in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
  • Sale of 64 multifamily properties located throughout nine states and totaling more than 20,000 units, to global private equity firm, Lone Star Funds.

News & Views

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Recognitions

  • 2009–2024, Real Estate Law in New York, listed in Best Lawyers in America©
  • 2011–2023, Real Estate: Corporate Law, listed in Chambers USA
  • 2017–2022, listed in Who’s Who Legal – Real Estate
  • 2023, Thought Leader - USA in Real Estate, listed in Who’s Who Legal
  • 2022, Global Leader in Real Estate, listed in Who’s Who Legal
  • 2007–2023, New York “Super Lawyer,” listed in Super Lawyers
  • 2016, “Outstanding Individual Assistance to The Society Award,” presented by The Legal Aid Society
  • 2013, “Top Rated Lawyer in Mergers & Acquisitions,” listed by American Lawyer Media
  • AV Preeminent®, listed by Martindale-Hubbell®

Affiliations

Memberships

  • International Council of Shopping Centers
  • National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts
  • New Jersey State Bar Association
  • New York County Bar Association
  • New York State Bar Association
Professional Activities

Marty currently serves on the Board of the Professional & Leadership Division of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 2010, he was honored as the recipient of the Humanitarian Award given by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine for his outstanding commitment to the organization.

Credentials

Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • New York

Education

  • State University of New York at Binghamton, BS, summa cum laude
  • New York University School of Law, JD
Languages
  • Spanish