Category: Real Estate

NAIOP-NJ’s Public Policy Symposium

Gibbons P.C. is proud to serve as Event Sponsor for NAIOP-NJ’s Public Policy Symposium, on March 23, 2022 at the Carpenters Apprentice Training Center in Edison, NJ. We hope that you can join us and the greater NAIOP-NJ membership as we hear from the new Senate and Assembly leadership teams, along with the Mayors of Newark and Paterson, and the development community as they discuss how to keep New Jersey prosperous and growing. To register: NAIOP New Jersey – Public Policy Symposium (1 Credit) (wildapricot.org).

Legislature Cleans Up After Morristown Hospital

The legislative response to Morristown Hospital, Assembly Bill 1135, became law on February 22, 2021. Morristown Hospital, a Tax Court case decided in 2015, stripped Morristown Hospital of its property tax exemption. The case dealt at length with the modern reality that many nonprofit hospitals include for-profit operations within their walls, including private practice groups and ancillary facilities like restaurants and shops. The Tax Court found that, among other reasons, the hospital’s for-profit operations vitiated its property tax exemption in its entirety. The case put in question the realty tax-exempt status of almost every nonprofit hospital in the state and, by extension, the tax exemption of many educational, religious, and charitable institutions which, similarly to hospitals, combine nonprofit and for-profit uses. Morristown Hospital injected uncertainty regarding nonprofits’ property tax exemptions and spawned litigation. After much debate among competing factions, including municipalities on one side and nonprofits on the other, the legislature has finally acted to bring clarity to the landscape. The new law provides for nonprofit hospitals to pay community service contributions based on the number of licensed beds in a given hospital, or a flat, per-day rate for satellite emergency care facilities. However, if the hospital or satellite emergency care facility has previously entered into a voluntary agreement with a municipality, the hospital or...

The End of LIBOR: Keeping Your Best Interest in Mind

The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which is the basis for the interest rates for millions of commercial real estate loans, is scheduled to be phased out by the end of 2021 according to the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), which represents the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by Treasury securities, is the likely successor to LIBOR in the U.S., but it is not yet a mandatory replacement. While many loan documents address the possibility of LIBOR’s unavailability, most loan documents fall into three categories. First, there may be language that converts the LIBOR component to the last LIBOR rate quoted, which would essentially convert a variable payment into a fixed payment. Second, some loan documents contemplate a more specific alternative (e.g., prime rate, SOFR, etc.) that could be a higher or more volatile rate than LIBOR, resulting in a potentially unplanned increase in borrowing costs. Finally, some contracts do not contain any alternative to LIBOR, which could lead to potential conflict, and even litigation, if the borrower and its lender fail to agree on an alternative rate prior to LIBOR’s unavailability. Borrowers and their counsel should review their existing loan documents that mature after 2021 to understand and plan for how their loan payments will be...

Navigating the Impact of Executive Orders on Shore Rentals and Hotels

With prom season and summer approaching, the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges and confusion for shore rentals and hotels. Unlike the regulation of most other businesses during the pandemic, the regulation of short-term lodging and hotels has been delegated to municipalities and counties by the state. As a result, there now exists a patchwork of varying regulations on a county-by-county and town-by-town basis. Those who own hotels or rental properties, and thwarted travelers looking for remedies, must undertake a careful evaluation of municipal and county directives in effect for the relevant locations. Executive Orders No. 107 and No. 108 and Administrative Order No. 2020-8 Executive Order No. 107, entered March 21, 2020, expressly closed all “non-essential retail businesses” and all recreational and entertainment businesses. In an effort to standardize restrictions throughout the state, Executive Order No. 108, entered on the same day, invalidated any existing or future restriction by a county or municipality that “in any way will or might conflict with any of the provisions of Executive Order No. 107, or which will or might interfere with or impede its achievement, or the achievement of Administrative Orders issued as authorized by [the Governor’s] Executive Orders.” Executive Order No. 108, however, had an exception for the lodging industry. Specifically, the Governor granted the Superintendent of...

COVID-19 – The “Real World” Market Impact We See To Date

Over the last several weeks, our phones have been ringing – a lot. Landlords and tenants want to know what lease obligations they can temporarily forego and what rights they do or do not have, given all that has been wrought by COVID-19, including mandatory closures, suggested closures, social distancing, and the inability to access government offices or courts, to travel, to obtain inventory, supplies, or materials, and, generally, to conduct business and meet responsibilities as contemplated when the governing document was signed. In the last four weeks, there has been much written about the lease clauses and avenues to pursue that are the most relevant to a technical analysis of the questions posed – the force majeure (a/k/a impossibility of performance) clause; the long-shot condemnation clause; the equitable theories based on impossibility, mutual mistake, or simple fairness; insurance recovery; and bankruptcy. So what’s happening in the “real world”? Here’s what we are seeing in our practice. 1. Everyone is nervous. Although this anxiety is, in large measure, due to the facts that we know, it is also clearly driven in large measure by having to plan for the unknown – how bad, how long, what does the “recovery” look like? 2. Obviously, many businesses have already seen drop-offs – in many instances, precipitous drop-offs...

IRS Extends Deadlines for Section 1031 Exchanges and Investments in Qualified Opportunity Funds

In response to the challenges faced by taxpayers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS issued Notice 2020-23 on April 10, 2020, which extends many tax filing and payment due dates to as late as July 15, 2020. Notably, this guidance includes deadlines associated with like-kind property exchanges under Section 1031 and investments in Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) under the Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) regime. A like-kind exchange is a tax-deferred transaction that allows for the disposal of an asset, typically real property, and the subsequent acquisition of another similar asset without generating capital gains tax liability from the sale of the initial asset. QOFs allow taxpayers to invest qualified capital gains into real property or businesses located in QOZs, and to defer and partially reduce taxation on the original capital gain while potentially eliminating all taxation on appreciation while in the QOF. Under Notice 2020-23, any person with a specified federal tax payment obligation or a federal tax return or other form filing obligation that would otherwise be due to be performed (originally or pursuant to a valid extension) on or after April 1, 2020 and before July 15, 2020 is deemed to be an affected taxpayer eligible for the later due date. The Notice also lists time-sensitive actions that may be...

Relaxation of Notary Rules Allows Remote Notarization in New Jersey and New York

With some banks and municipal offices closed to walk-ins, non-essential employees working from home, and social distancing requirements in place, the ordinarily mundane task of having documents notarized has become much more challenging. The very act of taking an acknowledgment requires that the notary personally interact with the signatory, verify identity, and witness document execution. This, of course, is wholly inconsistent with the COVID-19 world in which we find ourselves. Although electronic (rather than pen and ink) notarization has become more common in many jurisdictions, few states permit online or webcam notarization where the person signing a document is not in the physical presence of the notary. As a result of COVID-19, the rules have been relaxed in New Jersey and New York in order to permit video notarization in some instances. New Jersey New Jersey is utilizing a legislative process to amend the Notaries Public Act of 1979 (the “Act”). A bill designated as A-3903 was signed into law on April 14, 2020, as P.L. 2020, ch. 26. It takes effect immediately and will remain in effect for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency as declared by the Governor in Executive Order 103. It provides that a notary appointed pursuant to the provisions of the Act or an officer authorized to take oaths, affirmations,...

Legislative Update: NJ Assembly Passes Proposed Legislation Extending Municipal Land Use Deadlines

The New Jersey Assembly on March 25 unanimously passed Assembly Bill No A-3902, which proposes to vest in the Director of Local Government Services the ability to extend the deadlines under the Municipal Land Use Law and other statutes that require certain municipal action before a given deadline during a declared state of emergency or public health emergency. This would effectively suspend all timeframes for determining completeness or requiring a vote by the zoning or planning board on a given application. This legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration, and we will continue to monitor various legislative and regulatory updates.

Successfully Navigating Troubled Real Estate Waters in Novel Times

The novel coronavirus is leaving its mark on all aspects of our lives, and the real estate industry is certainly no exception. Whether you’re in the initial planning stages of a mixed-use redevelopment, the mid-point of a lease term, or the final stages of a construction project, the challenges presented by our current environment can make you feel like you’re at the end of your rope. No need. While some of today’s issues are indeed novel, many can be viewed as a 2020 version of past issues that we have helped clients to not only weather successfully but also used as a springboard to advance projects forward as those troubled waters receded. The Gibbons Real Property Department relies on its transactional, development, redevelopment, and financing attorneys to bring a comprehensive and seamless approach to advancing the interests of our clients. To give some idea as to the breadth of experience we bring to help us identify current issues and strategies, some of the industry areas where we regularly practice include: Public/private infrastructure projects (P3s) Commercial leasing, conveyancing, and financing Redevelopment projects, including PILOT applications, redevelopment, and financial agreements and RAB bonds Mixed-use retail/multi-family residential, including affordable housing Healthcare facilities, including hospitals and extended care facilities Warehouse/fulfillment centers Large volume multi-site highway retail Fortune 500 corporation...

Eight Gibbons Real Property and Environmental Attorneys Selected to 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

Attorneys from the Gibbons Real Property and Environmental Departments were featured in New Jersey Super Lawyers and New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars, with five attorneys on the 2020 Super Lawyers list and three on the 2020 Rising Stars list. These attorneys were listed in a wide range of categories, including Environmental, Land Use/Zoning, and Real Estate. The Gibbons attorneys listed in the 2020 issue of New Jersey Super Lawyers are Russell B. Bershad, Howard D. Geneslaw, William S. Hatfield, John H. Klock, and Susanne Peticolas. Jordan M. Asch, Andrew J. Camelotto, and Cameron W. MacLeod were selected to the 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars section. For the full release, please see here.