Overview
Jerald Cohn is a real estate transactions attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of Holland & Knight. His vast experience spans more than three decades and includes a wide variety of commercial real estate transactions nationwide.
As a member of the firm's Real Estate Practice Group, Mr. Cohn represents major institutional investors and pension funds in the documenting and closing of complex transactions involving the acquisition, financing and disposition of office, retail, multifamily, industrial and mixed-use properties. His practice also focuses on the structuring and negotiating of complex joint venture agreements and related documentation on behalf of institutional investors and pension funds. Mr. Cohn has a thorough understanding of 1031 tax-deferred exchanges (including regular and reverse exchanges), as well as the intricacies involved with transfers of leasehold and membership interests.
In addition to the purchase and sale of commercial real estate, Mr. Cohn represents lenders in the origination of all types of commercial real estate financing products, including construction, interim and permanent loans. His nationwide lending practice includes representing lenders in cutting-edge participating construction loans that combine key aspects of his joint venture practice with his commercial loan work. He also counsels lender and borrower clients on alternative financing structures available to minimize mortgage taxes in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
Mr. Cohn's lending practice includes the representation of lenders and loan servicers in commercial loan workouts and foreclosures in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. For several years he authored the foreclosure chapter of the District of Columbia Practice Manual published by the District of Columbia Bar Association.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight in 2001, Mr. Cohn was a partner in a leading real estate firm based in Washington, D.C. Mr. Cohn served as a law clerk to the Honorable Lawrence F. Rodowsky of the Maryland Court of Appeals from 1985 to 1986.
Representative Experience
- Represented an offshore pension fund in the acquisition of the landmark Washington Harbour mixed-use, waterfront project in the heart of the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., consisting of 470,000 square feet of office and 85,000 square feet of retail and restaurants and related amenities, including an ice skating rink and iconic fountain
- Represented an institutional investor in connection with the purchase of a 40-story Manhattan office condominium tower; the work included extensive signage agreements and regulations related to the building's hallmark Times Square façade
- Represented an institutional investor in the acquisition of hybrid development rights and ground lease interests above a subterranean parking garage for the construction of a luxury hotel in a mixed-use, master condominium project in Cambridge, Mass.
- Represented an institutional client in the acquisition of a 363-unit, 34-story multifamily and retail building in the Pacific Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y.; the transaction involved the negotiation of regulatory agreements with state and city agencies related to affordable housing requirements, as well as a long-term real estate tax abatement through New York's 421a program
- Represented an institutional client in the acquisition of a 260,000-square-foot retail "power center" in Chesapeake, Va., anchored by a Dick's Sporting Goods and Kroger Marketplace
- Represented a pension fund in the acquisition of a portfolio of industrial buildings in Tacoma, Wash., all of which are subject to ground leases to the Port of Tacoma
- Represented an institutional investor in connection with the purchase of a 500,000-square-foot, 21-story office building at 555 City Center in downtown Oakland, Calif.; the project includes a series of complex restrictive covenants related to Oakland's City Center redevelopment project
- Represented a life insurance company lender in connection with an $83.5 million construction and permanent loan for the construction of a four-story, 202-unit, Class "A" apartment project located in Mountain View, Calif.
- Represented a life insurance company lender in connection with a $35.8 million construction and permanent loan with participating features for the construction of a five‑story, 81-unit, Class "A" apartment and retail project located in Los Angeles
- Represented a life insurance company lender in connection with a $60.6 million construction and permanent loan with participating features for the construction of a 288-unit, Class "A" apartment project with six, four-story buildings located in a suburb of Charlotte, N.C.
- Represented a life insurance company lender in connection with a $53.13 million construction and permanent loan with participating features for the construction of a five‑story, 258-unit, Class "A" apartment project located in Hanover, Md.
- Represented a life insurance company lender in connection with a $22.2 million construction and permanent loan for the construction of a four-story, 73-unit multifamily and retail project located in Watertown, Mass.
- Represented a commercial lender in connection with the acquisition by deed in lieu of foreclosure of the Sheraton Tucson Hotel & Suites in Tucson, Ariz.
- Represented a commercial lender in connection with the foreclosure and subsequent sale of the 495-unit Loch Raven Village Apartments located in Baltimore, Md.; the property is one of the largest multifamily properties in Baltimore
Credentials
- Georgetown University Law Center, J.D.
- Syracuse University, B.A., cum laude
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- District of Columbia Bar, Section Steering Committee Member of the Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Section, 2009-2012
- Georgetown University Master's Program in Professional Studies, Adjunct Faculty Member
- District of Columbia Practice Manual, Former Editor
- Influencer in Retail Real Estate - Holland & Knight's Retail Development and Leasing Team, GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, 2023
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Real Estate Law, 2012-2025
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated