Economic Development

Economic Development is the engine that improves the tax base, increases the size and diversity of employment opportunities, expands business opportunities, and improves the quality of life in California communities.

The Economic Development, Real Estate & Housing Practice team facilitates the implementation, funding and construction of commercial development, affordable housing and community improvement projects. Our background as city attorneys as well as general and special counsel to housing authorities, joint powers authorities, special districts and redevelopment agencies, puts us in a unique position to help our clients achieve their economic development goals and objectives.

• Comprehensive Service. Meyers Nave attorneys employ a strategic, multi-disciplinary approach to help public agencies tackle multiple issues simultaneously, including property acquisition; remediation of hazardous materials; property disposition; creative financing; CEQA compliance; and procurement, competitive bid and prevailing wage requirements. Representative projects include shopping centers, hotels and convention centers; affordable and market rate housing developments; health care service facilities; recycling facilities; and transit-oriented facilities.
• Critical and Strategic Financing. We bring together different financing mechanisms to creatively fund economic development and community enhancement projects. We have extensive experience with municipal revenue sources, including developer impact fees, assessments and taxes. We also help clients create all types of financing districts, including assessment districts, community facility districts, landscape and lighting districts, business improvement districts, infrastructure financing districts, integrated financing districts, community rehabilitation districts and joint powers authorities. Some of these revenue sources have been used to finance the construction of affordable housing, transit-oriented development, public facilities, parks, utility services, infrastructure, and water and wastewater facilities.
• Post-Redevelopment Issues. Since California dissolved redevelopment agencies in 2012, Meyers Nave has leveraged its redevelopment expertise to help successor agencies, housing successor agencies, economic development agencies, cities, counties, and residential and commercial developers plan and complete projects in the post-redevelopment environment. We advise cities, counties and successor agencies in the sale of redevelopment assets, strategies to maximize the development of former redevelopment assets, interface with oversight boards, tax sharing agreements, redevelopment agency windup issues, and address property tax allocation distribution issues and issues related to pass-through payment agreements.

Real Estate:  From small projects that involve single parcels and rehabilitation of existing structures to complex developments that involve multi-party, multi-parcel, and multi-phased developments, we offer integrated resources from our real estate, land use and environmental law attorneys.

• Comprehensive Client Base. Meyers Nave’s Real Estate Practice serves the transaction, regulatory compliance and litigation needs of real estate owners, lenders, investors, developers, landlords, tenants and planners. Our clients include business entities, public agencies, non-profit organizations and public-private partnerships.
• Broad Project Experience. Meyers Nave attorneys work on all types of real estate projects – commercial, industrial, residential, mixed-use, transit-oriented development, hospitality, retail, restaurant, entertainment and sports venues, healthcare and education. We guide clients through all aspects of real estate law for projects on all types of improved and unimproved land, including brownfield, greenfield, infill, redevelopment, and public use.
• Transactions. Meyers Nave assists clients with a comprehensive range of real estate transactions. For example, we help structure, negotiate and close purchases, sales, sale-leasebacks, easements, licenses, and tax-deferred exchanges on all types of developed and undeveloped land, as well as conduct due diligence investigations and structure and negotiate financing and ground leasing agreements associated with these transactions.
• Litigation. Meyers Nave litigation attorneys have significant experience resolving real estate disputes on behalf of property owners, lenders, investors and developers. We have experience in litigation in state and federal courts and our dispute resolution experience also includes mediation, settlement conferences, and arbitration.

Housing:  Meyers Nave’s Housing Practice has long been a leader in facilitating the entitlement and development of affordable and market-rate housing. We guide public agencies, private developers and universities through the labyrinth of local, state and federal laws applicable to housing projects. Our attorneys also handle litigation challenging those projects.

• Obtaining Government Approvals. We work with housing developers to formulate strategies for obtaining local government approval of housing projects and complying with local and state housing requirements.
• Guiding Public-Private Development. Meyers Nave attorneys have the knowledge and experience needed to assist local governments and affordable housing developers with land conveyance transactions and funding from government agencies for public-private development projects.
• University Student and Faculty Housing. Meyers Nave attorneys have developed a unique expertise in assisting universities, community college districts and developers with student housing projects and workforce housing for faculty and staff.