Blogs

Construction

Amazon’s Return-to-Office Mandate: What It Means for Northern Virginia’s Real Estate Market

Amazon’s recent announcement that employees will be required to return to the office five days a week has sparked significant interest in the real estate and business communities. This policy shift is part of a larger trend where tech giants and other major corporations are encouraging—or mandating—employees to return to in-office work after several years…

October 18, 2024

Business and Financial Services

Commercial Foreclosure Alternatives (DC)

This Lexis Practical Guidance practice note by John G. Kelly, discusses alternatives to foreclosure for Washington, DC commercial real estate loans with a focus on the deed in lieu process.

March 18, 2024

Business and Financial Services

Commercial Foreclosure Alternatives (VA)

This Lexis Practical Guidance practice note by John G. Kelly, discusses alternatives to foreclosure for Virginia commercial real estate loans with a focus on the deed in lieu process.

March 18, 2024

Construction

Updates and Suggestions: Business Interruption Insurance

Business interruption insurance is insurance to cover losses when businesses are unable to operate for reasons outside of their control. Typically, in the commercial real estate context, landlords obligate tenants to carry this insurance and landlords normally carry their own policies as well. The tenant’s policy would protect their business revenue and the landlord’s policy…

March 26, 2020

Real Estate

Coronavirus Force Majeure and Real Estate Leases

The coronavirus pandemic will affect us in many ways, and we all must be responsible with public health the primary concern, but what do we do with respect to our binding agreements? What do you do when you simply cannot perform for reasons outside of your control? In this post I will briefly review some actions to take from the perspective of a commercial real estate owner or tenant. In addition to assessing risk, following public directives with respect to employees and limiting liability,…

March 16, 2020

Real Estate

Assignment and Consent Standards in Commercial Leases

Assignment provisions in commercial leases are heavily negotiated and very important to both landlords and tenants. This article presents a brief overview of the assignment provision in commercial leases, both office and retail. Assignment provisions in commercial leases are heavily negotiated and very important to both landlords and tenants. When a tenant’s interest in a lease is assigned, the tenant is transferring its entire leasehold interest and 100% of the leased premises to a third…

March 6, 2020

Construction

How is the Local Office Leasing Market Doing a Year After the Amazon HQ2 Announcement?

The Northern Virginia office market had a total vacancy rate of 18.3% in the fourth quarter of 2019. This represents a continuing gradual strengthening of the market as it was the eleventh consecutive quarter with positive net absorption. That said, vacancy rates are still higher than before the great recession ten years ago. Much of…

January 16, 2020

Construction

What will be the Impact of Amazon HQ2 to the Hotel Industry?

The second headquarters for Amazon in Arlington, VA is obviously a hot topic in local commercial real estate. Much of the focus so far has been on projected residential price increases and increased commercial leasing. But, let’s not forget about the hotel industry. The forecast for much higher hotel traffic in the area was the…

July 19, 2019

Construction

Right to Self-Help in DC, MD, and VA

Self-Help. Ok or Not? “Self-help,” in a leasing context, typically refers to the landlord’s historical remedy of locking out a defaulting tenant and obtaining possession of the premises without going through judicial procedures. Traditionally under the common law, a landlord was subject to few limitations in choosing its remedies against a defaulting tenant, including the…

July 12, 2012

Construction

A Landlord’s Duty to Mitigate. Part IV

In this series we have been examining a landlord’s duty to mitigate their damages after a default by the tenant. Earlier we looked at the laws in the District of Columbia and Virginia. An examination of Maryland’s law is below.

June 22, 2012