Real Estate

Lawson Lundell’s Real Estate Group acts for developers, institutional and private investors, pension funds, pipeline, mining, energy and utility companies, contractors, and government agencies who undertake and manage a broad range of real estate projects and portfolios, including commercial, industrial, institutional, residential and mixed use.

We have the experience, resources and reputation to provide our clients with responsive, pragmatic and cost-efficient advice. In addition to serving our clients, our lawyers are frequently called upon to participate in educational presentations for the legal profession and the development industry, and are also active and contributing members of industry associations such as the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Urban Development Institute.

When appropriate, our Group draws on the knowledge provided by other members of the firm in such areas as tax, environmental and Indigenous law. We also have experience assisting foreign buyers of real property and with advising on cross-border transactions. In advising Chinese clients or clients doing business in China, we work with members of our Asia Pacific Group, many of whom are also members of our Real Estate Group. Our understanding of the Western Canadian real estate market and Chinese investments means that we are able to act as a strategic partner to clients to help identify opportunities.

Our areas of work include:

Acquisitions & Divestments

We assist in the buying, selling and financing of interests in development lands as well as office, retail, industrial, land assemblies, bare and rural land, and mixed-use portfolios and properties. Our work involves the acquisition of development sites, organization and formation of various development entities, rezoning and municipal approval matters, financing and due diligence.

Leasing

We act as lead leasing counsel for institutional and privately held landlords and tenants in connection with lease preparation, negotiations and related property management matters for regional shopping centres, enclosed malls, lifestyle centres, office tower complexes and multi-tenanted industrial parks.

Development

We assist our developer clients in the site acquisition, tax planning, subsequent development work and project marketing of mixed use and multi-family projects as well as office, industrial and retail projects, advising on such matters as subdivisions (including air space subdivisions and strata titling), large land assemblies and redevelopment of real property as well as strata titled project sales matters.  We also advise our clients with respect to compliance with the Real Estate Development and Marketing Act (REDMA).

Infrastructure

We assist utilities, power producers, pipeline, mining and energy companies with real property matters, including the large-scale acquisition of property rights for linear projects and related facilities throughout British Columbia and Alberta.

Ownership Structuring

We assist in the planning and formation of corporate structures for various real estate transactions, including the formation of limited partnerships, single purpose corporations, joint ventures and bare trusts specifically suited for various real estate properties, and to achieve tax efficient structures for our clients.

Financing

We assist developers and private investors to negotiate and close acquisition, construction and other credit facilities. We also assist our Banking and Debt Financing Group with the review of real estate agreements in connection with complex lending transactions and draw on their knowledge where appropriate.

Expropriation

We assist clients who must take property to build their infrastructure projects and we assist clients whose property is taken for such projects or for municipal purposes. The former include utilities and pipelines companies; the latter range from shopping centres and gas stations to individual home owners. With extensive real estate and litigation experience, we provide a full range of expropriation services to support our clients, including strategic planning, negotiations towards voluntary acquisition, challenges (where available) to the scope of property expropriated, conduct of formal expropriation proceedings, and litigation of compensation claims.

Municipal Law

We assist private sector clients and citizen groups on all aspects of municipal law including land use planning, public/private partnerships, development and building permits, rezoning and municipal entitlements (including heritage incentives).

Litigation

Our real estate litigation group assists with a wide variety of claims related to real estate matters. These cases frequently involve the application of difficult areas of law and the use of a variety of experts. We provide advice and representation to international, national and local corporations as well as to individuals, financial institutions, tenants, commercial landlords, creditors, debtors and others in matters relating to real estate, such as REDMA purchaser disputes. Members of the group also advise and represent clients in cost recovery actions related to contaminated sites and regulatory investigations regarding a variety of environmental matters.

Property Tax, Property Transfer Tax, Foreign Buyers’ Tax and Vacancy Tax

We provide a full range of property assessment and taxation services to a variety of property owners from advance property tax planning through liaison with government to prosecution of property tax and payments in lieu of tax appeals before all levels of provincial and First Nations appeal tribunals and courts.

Our clients include major industries, commercial developers, utilities, large and small businesses, non-profit and charitable organizations and individuals.

Environmental / Contaminated Sites

We advise clients on various aspects of environmental law impacting on commercial real estate transactions including environmental due diligence, risk assessments, allocation of liability, representations and warranties, and indemnities. We also advise on issues relating to contaminated sites, including polluter, producer and responsible persons liability, allocation of environmental liability, site remediation requirements, remediation cost claims, and certificates of compliance.

Indigenous Law

We assist clients with a variety of real estate matters involving Indigenous groups, including the implementation of urban treaty agreements and the preparation and financing of residential and commercial leases of First Nations lands. Our firm also has extensive experience assisting project proponents to design and implement consultation programs and negotiating impact-benefit agreements with Indigenous groups.

Strata Property Wind ups

We assist strata corporations, developers and real estate agents in all aspects of strata corporation wind ups. We have successfully completed a number of strata corporation Wind-Ups, including the first court approved wind up in British Columbia.