Tom Cody concentrates his practice on land use and real estate development matters. He counsels clients on regulatory strategies for complex projects, such as brownfield redevelopment and mixed-use development. He appears regularly before planning, zoning, and wetland boards and commissions in Connecticut, as well as state and federal environmental permitting agencies. Mr. Cody is currently working with the master developer of a major mixed-use project in Mansfield, Connecticut, which will redevelop a new main street area for the town and the University of Connecticut. The project has involved preparing and approving a state-level municipal development plan, structuring public finance solutions, creating a new flexible zoning district for the project area, and project permitting. Mr. Cody has represented several large corporations in the planning, repositioning, and disposition of excess property. He has represented retail developers, as well as pharmaceutical and health care institutions, in the permitting and development of new facilities. These projects have required multidisciplinary approaches to project development, including coordination of land assembly, negotiation of development agreements, and implementation of a strategy for obtaining project permits and approvals. Mr. Cody has also represented several municipalities in the review of complex redevelopment projects, as well as land use litigation. He assisted the Town of West Hartford, Connecticut, with the review of land use applications and the successful defense of administrative appeals relating to the Blue Back Square project. He also represented the City of New Haven in the successful defense of its planned development district zoning ordinance, a case that was heard by the Connecticut Supreme Court. Mr. Cody worked for four years as a city planner in the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area, where he was responsible for zoning analysis and plan review for many large development projects. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Real Estate Law since 2007 (copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC). Mr. Cody has also been named to the Connecticut Super Lawyers® list in the area of Land Use since 2006 (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.). Mr. Cody previously served as cochair of the firm's Land Use Practice Group, and he currently serves as the firm's partner in charge of recruitment and hiring. Professional Associations - American Bar Association - Connecticut Bar Association, Executive Committee of Planning and Zoning Section - International Council of Shopping Centers - Urban Land Institute Community Involvement - Riverfront Recapture, Inc., Hartford, Connecticut, Board of Directors Honors and Awards - Listed in Connecticut Super Lawyers® in the area of Land Use/Zoning Law since 2006 (Super Lawyers is a registered trademark of Key Professional Media, Inc.) - Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Real Estate Law since 2007 (copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC) Experience - Representation of a public-private partnership with the State of Connecticut to redevelop, operate, and maintain Connecticut's 23 highway service plazas. The 35-year agreement was the result of extended negotiations with the state Department of Transportation. The service plaza overhauls will also include "green" initiatives to bring the facilities up to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, improve water runoff patterns, and install idle-reduction technology for use by trucks on the Connecticut Turnpike, also known as Interstate 95. Including projected revenues, initial construction, and reinvestments, the benefit to the State of Connecticut is estimated to be almost $500 million over the term of the agreement. - Representation of a well-known diversified technology, media, and financial services company in deconstruction and remediation of a manufacturing facility with environmental, historic, and wetlands challenges in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Publications & Presentations Articles - "Brownfields Property Disposition Strategies" (1996), published in Robinson & Cole: The Law & The Land - "A Tale of Two Towns: An Affordable Housing Update" (1994), published in Robinson & Cole: The Law & The Land Books - Redevelopment: Planning, Law, and Project Implementation (6/2008), coedited with Brian W. Blaesser, published by the American Bar Association, Section of State and Local Government Law News 9.02.09, Books by Robinson & Cole LandLaw Partners on Best Seller List 3.02.09, Robinson & Cole Partners Moderate Panel Discussion at LCD Seminar |