John A. Fandel

John Fandel has more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate leasing matters for local, national, international, institutional, and telecommunications industry clients, including but not limited to data center tenants, shopping center owners, national retailers, and office property landlords and tenants, as well as owners and developers of mixed-use real estate projects.

John’s experience includes drafting and reviewing long-term ground leases, build-to-suit transactions, office, industrial, restaurant, and retail leases, and a variety of related documents. He has prepared leases, licenses, and easements for cellular telephone companies, collocation agreements, cell site and antenna leases for property owners, and service agreements for data centers. John also has extensive experience with acquisitions, sales, sale-leaseback transactions, loan transactions, and other general real estate matters.

John’s overarching objective when working with his commercial leasing clients is to negotiate and document deals intelligently, thoughtfully, and fast—a true “deal-oriented” attorney.

Education

Stanford University, J.D.; Member, Stanford Law Review; Member, Stanford Journal of International Law

United States Air Force Academy, B.S.; Distinguished Graduate

Admissions

Washington

United States District Court for the Western District of Washington

• Represented King County Metro in negotiating a complex development agreement, long-term ground lease, and ancillary easements and agreements for a transit-oriented development project that will include 232 affordable housing units on King County Metro-owned property in the Northgate neighborhood in Seattle.
• Represented commercial real estate company that currently manages more than 4.5 million square feet of space in leasing transactions including:
  • The 20,000-square-foot lease by PCC Community Markets in the Rainier Square Development for its flagship store. PCC is the largest community-owned food market in the United States and the first major grocer to lease space in downtown Seattle in more than a decade.
  • Joint venture with property developer in leasing of a 700,000-square-foot Bellevue Distribution Center.
  • The 270,000-square-foot lease to an international law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
• Represented membership warehouse club with ground leasing and related matters for hundreds of retail locations throughout the United States.
• Represented retailer specializing in outdoor recreation gear, sporting goods and apparel in leasing and related matters for 24 retail store leases totaling approximately 360,000 square feet of space.
• Represented manufacturer of wireless technology as tenant in connection with a 90,000-square-foot office lease in Bellevue, Washington, and a 50,000-square-foot office lease in Mountain View, California.
• Represented West Coast-based real estate investment company in the leasing of over one million square feet of office and retail space in the Seattle/Bellevue area.
• Represented international closed-end real estate investment fund in the leasing of over 500,000 square feet of office and retail space in the greater Seattle area and the drafting and negotiation of commercial property management agreements in 20 first-class office properties nationwide.
• Represented real estate company that acquires, develops, manages, and invests in real estate assets within the western U. S. in multiple matters, including:
  • Sale of a 170,000-square-foot office space to the Environmental Protection Agency at the Park Place Building in Seattle, Washington.
  • Sale of a 100,000-square-foot office space to the Northwest Evaluation Association, a nonprofit organization in the education sector based in Portland, Oregon.

Insights & Presentations

• Co-author, “Landlords Can Enforce ‘Holdover’ Tenancy When Business Premises Are Left in a Dilapidated State,” Daily Journal of Commerce, October 6, 2022
• Co-author, “Key Issues to Consider in Commercial Lease Termination Agreements,” Daily Journal of Commerce, March 4, 2022
• Speaker, “Common Sense Approaches to Working WITH Your Landlord during the COVID–19 Pandemic,” The Seattle CFO Leadership Council, April 2020
• Co-chair and speaker, “Annual Market Update: Broker Perspectives,” 31st Annual Advanced Conference On Commercial Real Estate Leases, December 2019
• Author, “Regional Real Estate Practice Guide: Washington,” Chambers USA: Regional Real Estate guide, 2018
• Co-chair and speaker, “Annual Market Update: Broker Perspectives,” “The Current Most Contested Issues in Negotiating Lease Provisions,” 28th Annual Advanced Conference On Commercial Real Estate Leases, December 2016
• Co-chair and speaker, “The Current Most Contested Issues in Negotiating Lease Provisions,” “Leading Broker’s Panel on Today’s Leasing Market,” 27th Annual Advanced Conference On Commercial Real Estate Leases, December 2015
• Co-chair and speaker, “The 10 Most Contested Issues in Negotiating Lease Provisions,” “Leading Broker’s Panel on Today’s Leasing Market,” 26th Annual Advanced Conference On Commercial Real Estate Leases, December 2014

• Included in The Best Lawyers in America^® (Real Estate Law), 2023–present

Professional

• International Council of Shopping Centers, Member
• Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Member
• NAIOP, Member
• American Bar Association, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Member
• Washington State Bar Association, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Member
• King County Bar Association

Civic

• Real Estate Law, University of Washington Department of Real Estate/Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies, Affiliate Faculty, 2015–present
• Seattle German Language School, Nonprofit Board Member
• Hilltop Children’s Center, Nonprofit Board Member