Kaye Scholer

Mr. Kapner regularly handles acquisitions, financings and dispositions of lodging and hospitality properties, shopping centers, raw land, condominium projects, office buildings and mixed-use projects located throughout the United States. He has extensive experience representing borrowers and lenders in transactions involving mortgage and mezzanine debt, construction financing, joint ventures, workouts, debt restructuring and note sales.

Mr. Kapner’s clients include opportunity funds, foreign and domestic financial institutions, private equity groups, institutional investors and developers.

Representative Matters

Owner Representations

• Representation of a real estate opportunity fund in connection with the acquisition, development, financing and franchising of a $1B portfolio of hotels located throughout New York City. Representation also included negotiating general contractor agreements, joint venture agreements, intercreditor agreements, property management agreements, operating leases and other development related agreements.
  
  
• Representation of a joint venture in connection with obtaining $400M of first mortgage and mezzanine permanent financing from JP Morgan Chase.
  
  
• Representation of a private equity fund in connection with the acquisition of a portfolio holding company which owns shopping malls and power centers located throughout the southeastern United States. This transaction involved assuming mortgage debt held in various securitized pools, navigating through multiple master servicers, special servicers, B note holders and the rating agencies, and negotiating a joint venture agreement with Prime Finance Partner’s operating agreement.
  
  
• Representation of a property owner in connection with the sale of the Roger Williams Hotel located in New York City to LaSalle Properties. Central to this transaction was the assignment of a ground lease interest and the negotiation of an integrated management agreement for the continued management of the hotel by an affiliate of the seller.
  
  
• Representation of a real estate opportunity fund in connection with the acquisition, net leasing, financing and re-development of a 114 acre corporate office park in Westchester County, New York.
  
  
• Representation of a private equity group in connection with the acquisition and financing of the Whiteface Lodge, one of the premier hotels located in Lake Placid, New York.
  
  
• Representation of a real estate opportunity fund in connection with the successful restructuring of mortgage and mezzanine debt secured by a newly constructed mixed use condominium project in Brooklyn, New York.
  
  
• Representation of a real estate opportunity fund in connection with construction financing obtained from US Bank in order to build a hotel in midtown Manhattan. Representation also included negotiating a general contractor agreement, operating lease and franchise agreement.
  
  
• Representation of a joint venture in connection with the acquisition, development, ground leasing and subsequent sale of the Hotel QT located in Manhattan.
  
  
• Representation of an institutional capital partner in connection with a work-out of a master planned community and various high rise projects in South Florida.
  
  
• Representation of a pro bono client in the acquisition of land parcels and the construction of a Hebrew Academy in Riverdale, New York.

Lender Representations

• Representation of lender in connection with a $1.1B acquisition and construction financing provided to The Carlyle Group and Extell Development Corporation with respect to their redevelopment of the “Riverside South” rail yards on the west side of Manhattan.
  
  
• Representation of a national bank in connection with an acquisition and development loan to the CIM Fund III LP secured by 432 Park Avenue, New York, New York (former Drake Hotel site), one of the premier development sites located in New York City.
  
  
• Representation of foreign institutional lender in connection with a foreclosure and subsequent REO sale of a failed condominium project in southern California.
  
  
• Representation of a syndicated bank group in connection with $350M construction loan to construct a premiere Class A office building in Chicago, Illinois, which representation included the negotiation of a complicated mezzanine intercreditor agreement and an A/B co-lender agreement.
  
  
• Representation of a European bank in connection with the disposition of various distressed loans, which representation included the contested disposition of a portfolio of distressed New York hotels loans to institutional investors.
  
  
• Representation of lender with respect to a $450M mortgage and mezzanine loan to an affiliate of SL Green secured by 485 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York.
  
  
• Representation of a lender in connection with a multi-phase construction loan to affiliates of The Related Companies in connection with the construction of a furniture mart in Las Vegas, Nevada.