We advised a commercial real estate capital provider and wholly owned subsidiary of a leading property and casualty insurance company regarding Owner-Architect and Owner-Contractor agreements for a substantial multi-building residential project. The new construction project consists of seven mid-rise apartment buildings containing over 300-plus units with over 500 parking stalls and separate amenity buildings. The project presented a unique situation where our client’s joint venture partner held significant interests in both project ownership and the design and construction teams. This created a dynamic where the joint venture partner effectively sat on both sides of the contract negotiations. Given the large financial investment our client was asked to make in the project, our counsel was sought to make sure the agreements appropriately balanced the interests of all parties, protecting our client from any potential disadvantage arising from the interconnected relationships. This review was a key element of our client’s due diligence in safeguarding its substantial investment.
