Doug Van Gessel

Doug Van Gessel is a partner in the Real Estate, Land Use and Environmental Practice Group in the firm’s San Francisco office. Mr. Van Gessel is actively involved in pro bono and community service activities in the San Francisco Bay Area and writes and speaks on numerous real estate topics to various trade and bar organizations.

Mr. Van Gessel represents clients in all aspects of commercial real estate, with principal focuses on (i) development and structuring of major projects, (ii) creative financial transactions, including construction, term and mezzanine debt, joint ventures and synthetic lease financing, (iii) acquisitions and dispositions, (iv) workouts and restructurings of real estate-secured loans and equity investments, (v) office, industrial and retail leasing and subleasing, and (vi) negotiation of architectural, construction, management and consulting agreements.

Mr. Van Gessel has represented clients in more than $25 billion worth of real estate purchase and sale transactions for office, retail, hotel, industrial multi-family, and medical office and assisted care facilities, including many sophisticated alternative transactions, such as synthetic leases, ground leases, sale leaseback, tenancy in common and various joint venture arrangements.

Mr. Van Gessel has represented four Fortune 100 companies in all of their design and construction contracts for more than 15 years. He also represents a large data warehouse REIT on all its nationwide design and construction contracts-more than 70 each year. He has represented clients on a wide variety of projects-from hotels and warehouses to shopping centers and even a rocket launching pad.

Mr. Van Gessel has represented lenders and borrowers in the origination and/or restructuring of over $4 billion worth of real estate, secured debt, including construction and term loans, mezzanine and shared appreciation loans and ground lease financing for office, retail, apartment and hotel projects. He recently served as local counsel in the financing of the Golden State Warriors’ San Francisco arena.

Experience:

• Represented a Fortune 500 company in the development of a 15 million square foot campus facility, including the acquisition, financing, design and construction of the project.
• Represented a Fortune 100 company in the development of a 2.5 million square foot campus facility in Silicon Valley, including structuring of a sophisticated alternative financing strategy.
• Represented a national developer in the purchase, permitting, financing and development of a 2,000 acre mixed use retail, hotel, and residential project in Dublin, California.
• Represented a prominent Silicon Valley developer in the purchase, entitlement, subleasing, financing and buildout of both a 2.1 million square foot and an 800,000 square foot office campus.
• Represented a prominent Silicon Valley developer in the purchase, entitlement, subdivision, financing and build out of a 1.7 million square foot corporate campus.
• Represented a prominent Silicon Valley developer in the purchase, entitlement and construction of a 1.2 million square foot corporate campus.

Education:

• J.D., University of Michigan, 1987
• B.A., University of Michigan, 1982, high distinction