Steve Cohen, Attorney, Husch Blackwell LLP

EXPERIENCE

Steve’s practice primarily involves commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, private equity investments, joint ventures and equity and debt financings. He represents clients in all industry classes, including office, multi family, retail, raw land and manufactured housing.

Over the past 15 years, Steve has focused on the resort and hotel industry, representing owners, managers, investors and developers. From 1997 through 2006, Steve was an integral part of the team that was primary counsel for one of the largest owners and operators of ski resorts in North America. During that time, Steve had primary responsibility for overseeing all of that client’s resort acquisitions and financing activities throughout the United States.

In recent years, Steve has focused his practice on hotel transactions, including purchases and sales, hotel management agreements, joint venture agreements and financing transactions.

Steve is Chair of Husch Blackwell’s Hospitality practice group, which includes attorneys who are involved in real estate transactions and development, finance, tax, labor and employment, intellectual property, franchising, gaming, construction and business litigation.

PRACTICE AREAS

Real Estate and Corporate Transactions

Joint Ventures

Real Estate Financing

Hospitality

 

BAR ADMISSIONS

California, 1990

New York, 1990

Colorado, 1996

 

EDUCATION

LL.M., Taxation, New York University School of Law, 1995

J.D., Fordham University, 1989

A.B., University of Michigan, 1985

 

NOTED WORK

Steve’s practice focuses on real estate, corporate, financial and hospitality transactions. Recent representation includes the following:

• Represented a resort corporation in connection with the disposition of its condo-hotel management business in Lake Las Vegas, Nev.


• Represented a Denver-based private equity fund in connection with a restructuring of its investment in a hotel portfolio in India.


• Represented the purchaser of a 148-unit apartment complex in Colorado Springs, Colo.


• Represented a resort corporation in connection with the refinancing of its $1.8 billion corporate loan facility, including acting as Colorado local counsel for two ski resorts.


• Represented a Denver-based brick manufacturing company in numerous acquisitions of warehouse facilities and storerooms throughout Colorado and Wyoming in transactions ranging from $2 million to $15 million.


• Represented a resort corporation in its stock sale of a ski resort in a transaction valued at approximately $365 million.


• Represented a real estate investment trust in connection with office building acquisitions in downtown Denver and Minneapolis.


• Represented an affiliate of a resort corporation in a $338 million construction financing of a luxury resort development project located in Maui, Hawaii.


• Represented a resort corporation in the acquisition of the entity that operates a Colorado ski area in a transaction valued at approximately $265 million.


• Represented a Denver-based private equity fund in connection with its formation of a $300 million real estate investment fund with a focus on opportunities in emerging markets throughout Russia, Eastern Europe and Asia.


• Represented a resort corporation in its transaction with the City and County of Denver to operate a Colorado ski resort for the next 75 years, together with the acquisition of the surrounding base area real estate for development of a mixed-use retail and residential pedestrian village.


• Represented the potential purchaser of a branded hotel property in southeast Denver, including negotiations of purchase and sale agreement, management agreement and entity formation documents.

 

Publications

• How Secure is your Hotel Management Agreement, Colorado Real Estate Journal, May 2, 2012.


• Salvaging the Distressed Condo Hotel, Urban Land, May 1, 2012.


• Denver Real Estate Attorneys Find Good Fit, More Potential at Husch Blackwell, Colorado Real Estate Journal, November 16, 2011.


• Liquor License: Hotel Transactions, Colorado Real Estate Journal, December 1, 2010


• Hotel Lenders Prefer Workouts, Restructurings to Alternative, Colorado Real Estate Journal, June 1, 2010