Land Use and Real Estate Matters
Smyth McIntosh’s real property practice includes representing lenders, developers, managers and owners in both straightforward and sophisticated commercial transactions. These may involve environmentally impacted properties, together with a variety of smaller commercial and residential real estate transactions. For institutional clients we have often (upon request) focused on special loan situations involving collateralized real estate.
Smyth McIntosh has experience represented the interests of buyers and sellers, as well as lenders and borrowers. We understand the special needs and objectives each party brings to the bargaining table and are prepared to handle:
- Commercial real estate transactions, including real estate development, purchases, sales, mortgage financing and restructuring
- Commercial lease counseling, review, negotiation and preparation
- Representation of homeowner associations
- Representation of bank in connection with enforcing rights in special loan bankruptcy cases
- Loan workouts
- Foreclosures
- Debt restructuring
- Development
- Acquisition
- Sale
- Leasing and subleasing
- Zoning
Smyth McIntosh began its land-use work representing the six major forest products industries along Olympia’s historic West Bay. For more than a decade we helped these businesses to maintain their industrial zoning despite repeated efforts to downzone the land and declare the existing uses as nonconforming. In the end, due to a challenging economic and political environment, four of the six businesses either transitioned away from the waterfront or closed. Since the idea of redeveloping these properties became viable, Smyth McIntosh has been at the forefront of assisting these clients with redevelopment plans.
Urban Waterfront Redevelopment Smyth McIntosh has been active in the development of every major land use plan and regulation which affects development along Olympia’s historic West Bay. These include six comprehensive plan amendments between 1984 and 2001, a shoreline master program amendment in 1990 and development of an urban waterfront plan in 1993. The firm’s founder served on the task forces for the shoreline master program amendment and urban waterfront plan, and in 2001 served on the stakeholder committee that drafted the latest amendments to the comprehensive plan and development regulations effecting West Bay redevelopment.
