Practice Areas & Industries: Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A.

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Urban development today offers significant economic opportunities and challenges, which require assistance from an experienced team of legal professionals. The experience, knowledge and relationships Gunster Yoakley has cultivated since 1925 provide significant resources to facilitate the creation and implementation of workable urban development strategies and partnerships.

Combining traditional real estate legal services with the broad talents and experience of its Urban Development Group members, the Firm is uniquely positioned to assist developers amid the rapidly changing urban landscape of the 21st century. From finding the right location for a business enterprise, through obtaining required approvals, developing, building and operating the venture, members of Gunster Yoakley's Urban Development Group possess the knowledge, resources and experience to provide strategic counsel and legal guidance for your initiatives.

Services Available

• Affordable Housing
• Architectural Review
• Brownfields Redevelopment
• Development and Design Regulations
• E-Smart Development
• Eminent Domain and Property Rights
• Enterprise and Empowerment Zones
• Historic Preservation
• Hotel, Convention, Sports and Performing Arts Facilities
• Marketing
• Parking, Transit, Traffic Management and Security
• Public and Private Partnerships
• Real Estate Acquisitions and Sales
• Retail and Restaurant Leasing and Development
• Special Taxing and Assessment Districts

Representative Matters

• Helped revitalize Miami Beach's South Beach through adoption of innovative zoning requirements that protect historic structures while encouraging their adaptive re-use; creation of street and infrastructure improvement programs funded by special assessments; initiation of Business Improvement Districts to manage city services; and development of widely recognized public/private projects.
• Assembled 26 continuous blocks of blighted urban property in West Palm Beach and attained development approvals for CityPlace, a large-scale office, retail and residential project in the downtown/uptown corridor. Other downtown initiatives included securing location of the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts; negotiating affordable housing and parking agreements; collaborating on retail and restaurant leases and the sale of various Clematis Street buildings; and establishing a special taxing district, tax increment financing and infrastructure agreements.
• Assisted renovation efforts that transformed downtown Fort Lauderdale and the adjacent beachfront into vibrant residential, commercial, retail and entertainment districts. Through the Firm's efforts, the cityscape now includes Las Olas River House, a 42-story riverfront condominium; Beach Place, a mixed-use retail and condominium hotel complex on the beach; and Summit Las Olas, a 420-unit rental apartment building near all of downtown's amenities.

Clients:
Arvida/JMB Partners, AutoNation, Inc., Bank of America, N.A., Bankrate, Inc., Boca Raton Resort and Club, Capital City Bank Group, Inc., Chiquita International, Inc., Citrix Systems, Inc., Flagler Development Corporation, Florida East Coast Industries, Inc., FTD, Inc., GE Capital, Gill Hotels Company, Inc., Innkeepers Hospitality, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Jupiter Island Club, Lee Munder Capital Group, Levenger Company, Lykes Bros., Inc.,, Murray Goodman Company, Park Avenue BBQ Restaurants, Pegasus Corporation of America, Pioneer Corporation, Pratt & Whitney, Ranger Construction Industries, Inc., Republic Services, Inc., Rybovich Spencer, SBA Communications Corporation, Seven Springs Golf Club, Smiths Industries PLC, Sonesta Hotels & Resorts, The St. Joe Company, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Teva Pharmaceutical, Trump International Golf Club, Trump National Golf Club, U.S. Sugar Corporation, U.S. Trust Company, United Technologies Corporation, WCI Communities, Inc.