Wednesday, March 13 · 12:00 to 1:00pm
Vance Hall, Room 406
Sign up through the Zell/Lurie Center
Jay A. Neveloff advises a broad range of clients involved with the development, ownership and financing of real estate projects, including high-profile mixed-use, commercial, retail, and residential projects in New York City and throughout the country. A nationally recognized transactional lawyer, Jay represents institutional and private equity funds, as well as other investors, in joint ventures, in the acquisition and sale of property, including portfolios of properties, and in connection with a broad variety of developments. He also represents major international funds and financial institutions in commercial lending transactions, loan restructurings and workouts.
Jay’s most notable transactions include high-profile projects in New York City, such as the Waldorf Astoria, representing the owner in several aspects; Disney-ABC, representing the company in the sale of its primary New York City campus and in the relocation of its New York headquarters to a 1.2-million-square-foot complex with office and studio space being developed in Tribeca; CIM in the development of 432 Park Avenue, multiple parties involved in the development and financing of Central Park Tower; and Time Warner Center, representing Related-Apollo in the $1.7 billion development of the premier mixed-use complex in Columbus Circle. Jay represented Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center in the sale of the main hospital campus; New York Life Insurance Co. in the sale of Manhattan House, a residential complex comprising an entire block on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; and the Ponte family in numerous Lower Manhattan transactions. He also led the sale of Stribling & Associates to Compass and the sale of The Sunshine Group to NRT Corcoran.
In another notable and unique project, Jay represents an owner of Broadway theaters in the sale involving a mixed-use building in Times Square, in which the seller retained ownership of the landmarked theater currently at street level. As part of the purchaser’s redevelopment of the property, the purchaser intends to lift the theater by up to 30 feet above its current location to allow for retail space at street level, and will renovate the theater for the seller.
Jay has played an integral role in advancing state and local legislative and policy changes on behalf of clients, including representing the owner of multiple large residential complexes and the owner and developer of major sports entertainment venues. He has had significant involvement in the adoption of federal and state legislation, including the adoption of amended Section 365(h) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (preserving the integrity of leasehold financings), the limitations enacted in 2016 regarding the Interstate Land Full Disclosure Act and other property-specific legislation, as well as New York State executive orders relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on real estate.
Jay regularly advises clients in the hotel and hospitality industry on the acquisition and development of properties, as well as on loan restructurings. He has been involved in several unique hospitality-related products for several clients, including the iconic Plaza Hotel and the St. Regis Hotel. He represented Starwood Hotels in the sale of several hotels including the Sheraton Manhattan and the retail portion of the St. Regis, and advised Korman Communities in the acquisition of the Smyth Hotel.
Jay also has deep experience in workouts and restructuring of properties in every asset class, including condominiums, hotels, commercial properties, hospitals and senior care facilities, in New York and other cities. Recently, he led a team of Litigation, Bankruptcy, Land Use and Real Estate lawyers in a financing, mezzanine foreclosure and bankruptcy involving a large development site near Sutton Place in Manhattan, and successfully defended the client against attempts to stop construction by rezoning the site. He has also advised both NYU-Langone Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as other not-for-profits and owners, in several leasehold condominium transactions.
On a national scale, Jay has facilitated the development of numerous regional and local shopping centers and other commercial projects throughout the country. He represented the owners of Starrett City, the largest federally subsidized housing complex in the United States, in a major capital transaction; represented the previous operator of Stuyvesant Town in a variety of matters; and guided the sale of a major casino hotel in Las Vegas on behalf of the owners. Recently, Jay led a multidisciplinary team representing Del Monte Foods in a $1.3 billion refinancing as well as in the $1.68 billion acquisition of that company.
According to a Chambers source, Jay “provides very effective representation and is very pleasant to work with. He has deep expertise in New York real estate markets and is very well connected” (Chambers USA 2021). He is described by market sources as “one of the best real estate lawyers in New York” and “a phenomenal and very, very creative attorney” (Chambers USA 2020). He’s been lauded by clients as “very well connected, really practical and incredibly responsive” (Chambers USA 2019), “one of our most trusted advisers” (Chambers USA 2018), and a “well respected” lawyer who “understands the scale” of the New York real estate landscape and “can eliminate problems” (Chambers USA 2014). He has been described as “a consummate real estate attorney” and “the dean of high-end, mixed-use condominium developments” (Chambers USA 2015). Clients appreciate that “he looks after his clients, is always available and responsive, and is very knowledgeable in the business” (Chambers USA 2017). He has been ranked in Tier 1 for Real Estate by Chambers every year for more than 15 years. Other observers say Jay is “a fantastic attorney” who is “very focused and detailed” (Legal 500 US 2015).