Peter S. Britell

Peter S. Britell

Peter S. Britell, chair of the firm's Global Real Estate Group, has been the lead real estate counsel in some of the preeminent transactions of the last two decades. He has broad experience in all aspects of real estate and construction practice, including architecture, engineering and construction agreements; complex development projects; REITs (real estate investment trusts); purchase/sale transactions; sale/leasebacks; leasing of all kinds; complex mortgage and other financings; real estate brokerage matters; land use and development matters; partnership, limited liability company and joint venture transactions; property, hotel and other management agreements; workouts and restructurings of all kinds; and resolution of disputes. Mr. Britell is experienced in representing clients from non-US jurisdictions in US transactions. He is listed under Real Estate in Best Lawyers in America, New York Super Lawyers and The New York Area's Best Lawyers.

Representative Matters

· One of the firm's team leaders in advising Amtrak on the proposed renovation of Penn Station in connection with the Moynihan East and West Redevelopment Project;

· One of the firm's team leaders in advising the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation on the World Trade Center Redevelopment Project;

· Drafted and negotiated documentation for the acquisition, design, construction and financing of a new performance and education facility for Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Time Warner Center Condominium at Columbus Circle;

· One of the lead partners representing Con Edison in drafting and negotiating the contract for the sale of nine acres on the East Side of Manhattan, including the site of the Waterside generating plant;

· Lead counsel in drafting and negotiating documentation for the site acquisition, design, construction and financing of the Samuel B. & David Rose Building at Lincoln Center; continuing representation of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. in connection with its current campus-wide renovation;

· Construction counsel to The New York Public Library in its significant renovation and development projects, including the restoration of the Central Research Facility at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue; restoration of Bryant Park (and construction of a six-million-volume storage facility); restoration of the Schomburg Center and the Library for the Blind; construction of the Science, Industry & Business Library in the former B. Altman store; and construction of the South Court fill-in and Bronx Library Center;

· Counsel to one of the largest Japanese life insurers in structuring convertible mortgage financings on major "trophy" office buildings; subsequently acquiring those properties through workouts; then monetizing those properties though an institutional REIT with one of the largest US office developers;

· One of the firm's team leaders in advising Cooper Union on construction of its new $80 million Academic Building in Cooper Square;

· Represented a European investor in master leasing two office buildings — one in Chicago and one in New York City (totaling 2 million sq. ft.) — and acquiring the fee to a third (1 million sq. ft.) from a major New York developer;

· Represented one of the largest non-US life insurers in a partnership to redevelop the former Gimbels 33rd Street store into what is now Manhattan Mall, a 1 million-plus sq. ft. project combining a vertical retail mall and upper-floor offices;

· Drafted and negotiated the contract under which Volkswagen acquired more than 1,200 acres and a 2 million sq. ft. half-completed building from Chrysler Corporation for Volkswagen's Westmoreland Assembly Plant in Greensburg, Pennsylvania; also negotiated the acquisition of a major stamping facility in Charleston, West Virginia from American Motors;

· One of the principal architects of the so-called New York City "pass-through" contract, developed in the early 1980s so the City could fund renovation and/or development of its museums, libraries, performing arts facilities and other cultural institutions;

· Represented the New York City Parks Department in the drafting and negotiation of agreements for transfer of the management of the Central Park Zoo to the New York Zoological Society, one of the first "privatizations" of a municipal facility and a main inspiration for creation of the "Business Improvement District," which has since been adopted in many areas of New York City; and

· Played a key role in negotiating Coudert Brother's office lease in the Grace Building, a transaction then-recognized as a benchmark New York large law firm lease.

Design and Construction

Dewey & LeBoeuf is one of only a few major New York firms with a design and construction practice. As leader of this practice, Mr. Britell has represented institutions in negotiating agreements with many world-famous architects, among them Frank Gehry, Morphosis, Rafael Viñoly, Enrique Norten, Davis Brody Bond, Snohetta, Polshek Partnership, Cooper Robertson & Partners, Beyer Blinder Bell, Butler Rogers Baskett and Hardy Holtzman Pfeiffer. He has also negotiated contracts with many of the largest US construction companies, among them Turner Construction Company, Tishman Construction Corporation of New York, Bovis Lend Lease, F.J. Sciame Construction Company, Inc., Suffolk Construction Company and Gilbane Building Company.

Selected Activities

· Adjunct Professor (2009), University of Miami School of Law L.L.M. Program in Real Property Development, "Law of Green Buildings."

· Chairman (1987-2000) and chairman emeritus (2000-2007) of the board of Housing & Services, Inc., a not-for-profit developer of low-income housing and special needs facilities, which developed more than 1,300 residential units with a value of over $200 million during Mr. Britell's tenure.

· Former partner and head of the real estate group at Coudert Brothers.

· Former partner, head of the real estate department and chairman of the management committee at Lord, Day & Lord, where he created the real estate practice.

· Subject of a profile in The Lure of the Law by Richard W. Moll (1990).

Awards and Recognitions

· Best Lawyers in America (2008-2010)

· New York Super Lawyers (2008, 2009)

· The New York Area's Best Lawyers (2008, 2009)