Whitney Garrett Smith

Whitney Garrett Smith advises clients nationwide on a variety of commercial real estate transactions including ground and space leases, acquisitions, dispositions and development. She provides counsel on a range of uses, including retail, restaurant, office and mixed use.

Whitney assists her clients in navigating commercial real estate transactions from start to finish to ensure deals move as smoothly as possible. She takes the time to understand her clients’ goals and works with her clients to effectively and efficiently address their needs. As part of a full range of services, Whitney :

• Drafts and negotiates ground leases, purchase agreements, space leases and ancillary documents, including subordination and nondisturbance agreements, lease guaranties and landlord work letters for developments nationwide.
• Reviews and analyzes due diligence materials for transactions, including the reinvestment of existing assets, advising on potential pitfalls and suggesting solutions to keep the deal moving.
• Advises purchasers of newly acquired developments of potential issues and prepares declarations, reciprocal easement agreements and form leases to address concerns.

In addition to her real estate practice, Whitney enjoys giving back to the community through her work with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Program and Kids in Need of Defense.

Representative Matters :

• Represented a national restaurant chain in purchasing and ground leasing land for development of new locations in the United States and in negotiating amendments to leases and recorded documents for the reinvestment of existing locations.
• Represented a publicly traded REIT in the preparation of a declaration and form lease used in connection with its mixed-use developments in Miami, Florida and Augusta, Georgia.
• Represented a national developer in the disposition of a combined total of over 540,000 square feet of Class A+ multitenant office properties in Ohio.
• Represented a public utility holding company and its renewable energy subsidiary in connection with the acquisition of solar and wind projects in Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia.
• Represented a publicly traded company in the sale and leaseback of California office space valued at $35.9 million.

EDUCATION :

• American University, Washington College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2013
• Vanderbilt University, B.A., magna cum laude, 2010

BAR ADMISSIONS : Georgia