Jason Wood

Strategist, leader, connector and highly effective real estate counsel 

Jason Wood is a strategic legal and business advisor to a range of institutional and private sector clients nationwide. Providing counsel on enterprise risk and opportunity, with deep knowledge of his clients’ businesses and growth strategies, Jason connects companies to the resources needed to move their businesses forward. With extensive background in real estate and related transactions, he focuses on:

• Serving as principal outside counsel
• Real estate transactions and development
• Real estate and commercial finance
• Joint ventures

Jason’s clients know him as a trusted advisor, their go-to counsel who is responsive and provides strategic legal advice that is also practical. They know he manages the big picture for them while also homing in on important details. They appreciate his focus on helping them make money and resolving disputes efficiently and effectively, always moving forward to fulfill their business objectives. 

As a client noted on Jason’s Chambers 2024 profile, “He brings business acumen to his negotiation and drafting that adds value from both a legal perspective and financial lens.”

• Serving as principal outside counsel to public companies, family offices, private equity groups and many others. With the help of his colleagues across the firm, Jason assists clients with debt and equity financing, technology and intellectual property (IP) protection, business disputes and other strategic initiatives.
• Advising on all phases of real estate transactions and negotiations, including everything from large multistate portfolio transactions to suburban and infill development and adaptive reuse.
• Structuring and forming joint ventures and other equity vehicles.
• Negotiating a wide variety of cooperative agreements, including sale-leaseback transactions and joint development, cost-sharing and construction agreements.
• Preparing covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&R) and other project documents in connection with the development of shopping centers, master-planned communities, hotels, condominiums (commercial and residential) and mixed-use developments.
• Representing both national lending institutions and borrowers in commercial financing transactions, including real estate acquisition, construction and permanent loan facilities, syndicated and structured finance, off-balance sheet financing and the defeasance of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans.
• Representing buyers and sellers in numerous individual and portfolio transactions, including purchase, sale, leasing and/or development of shopping centers, raw land, residential lots, apartment complexes, office buildings, billboards, retail stores, industrials parks, mining rights and other asset classes.

• Represented developer in connection with the acquisition and development of a large mixed-use center (multifamily, office and retail) containing over one million square feet of space. Our work included preparation of the master declaration; several condominium declarations; ongoing negotiation and documentation of leases, property management and brokerage agreements; zoning and entitlement work; parking agreements; and advice on incentive and governmental agreements. 
• Represented client in the negotiation of a master lease for redevelopment of 55 former auto centers located in Class B shopping centers throughout the U.S., including diligence review of COREAs governing the use and improvement of each such site.
• Representing buyers and seller in numerous apartment acquisitions, including the portfolio acquisition of two opportunity zone investments valued in excess of $500 million.
• Represented large publicly-traded REIT in connection with development of all contract documents for build-for-rent line of business, including negotiation of multiple nine-figure deals. 
• Redeveloped tallest building in southern Arizona into a boutique hotel and office, including government incentives (GPLET), condominiumization of the building, modifications to the REA governing the underground parking and other matters. 
• Represented tenant in connection with multiple headquarters leases throughout the U.S., including the lease of 600,000 square feet of office space in Atlanta.
• Negotiated the largest land deal in top 10 publicly traded homebuilder's history, including multiphase closing and land banking of same.
• Negotiated and conducted due diligence and closed multiple nine figure off-balance sheet transactions (aggregating in the billions annually) for large alternative investment fund.
• Advised on the acquisition of property within an opportunity zone and the development of 300-plus key hotel in downtown Scottsdale, Ariz., including negotiation of all construction and development (including incentive) agreements, and negotiation of joint venture with a large opportunity zone fund.
• Counseled publicly traded retailer in the sale and leaseback of dozens of industrial and retail properties valued in excess of $300 million.