Michael D. Kuntz

Michael Kuntz focuses his practice on real estate, primarily in commercial and residential development and finance for commercial and residential developers and development interests. Mike is distinguished in the commercial real estate community for his deep and extensive financing and transactional experience. He provides counsel on a full range of commercial real estate matters, including development, acquisitions, sales, leasing, partnerships, tax, debt and equity financing, and architect and construction contracting. He also has substantial experience in affordable housing/tax credit development and financing, privately held companies, general business, and business organization matters.

Education

University of Washington School of Law, J.D., 1981, with honors; Order of the Coif; Managing Editor of Operations, Washington Law Review, Phi Kappa Phi

University of Puget Sound, B.A., 1978, summa cum laude

Admissions

Washington

Development, Finance, and Joint Venture Projects

• Represent one of the premier developers in all its real estate development projects in the Puget Sound region. Significant and ongoing work centers on development of a 36-acre mixed-use, transit-oriented development. When complete, development will feature over three million square feet of commercial, residential, and retail space, and many open public spaces centered around a light rail station slated to open in 2024.
• Represented a national franchise sports team in the development of a new practice facility and headquarters as part of a massive mixed-use redevelopment project. Matter included a long-term ground lease.
• Represent the civic development of an 868-acre multi-use site in Vacaville, California that includes residential, a business village, a town center, recreational amenities, open space, and public infrastructure. Our representation on this project has included licensing, real estate, sales, construction contract review and negotiation, and financing various components of the project.
• Represented a joint venture in the development of a 1.7 million-square-foot mixed-use office, hotel, retail, and residential tower.
• Represented a developer in a $243 million construction loan for the construction of an approximately 333,000-square-foot office building leased to the same tenant including all connected ongoing development and entitlement work.
• Represented a developer in a $167 million loan for the construction of an approximately 220,000-square-foot office building and the build-to-suit lease of that office building to a major high-tech tenant.
• Represented a development company in an 180,000-square-foot new construction office building build-to-suit lease and closing of project’s debt and equity construction financing.
• Assisted with the debt and equity financing for the development of a 10-story, approximately 110,000-square-foot office building.
• Helped a residential development company with entity restructuring and construction financing for mixed-use projects in downtown Kirkland, Washington and in the Queen Anne district in Seattle, Washington.
• Represented a development, construction, and management company in a $25 million securitized refinancing of a large shopping center project.
• Represented a developer in the development of a portion of the former high school property in the school district. Negotiated a ground lease with the school district and advised on a sublease of a portion of the site for the development of a home improvement center. Subsequently closed a syndicated construction loan for the project and implemented the ground lease with the school district and the sublease for the home improvement center.
• Ongoing representation of a major real estate company in a variety of apartment development projects including work on a $67 million refinance, a $43.8 million construction loan, and the sale and related loan assumption of another apartment project.

Acquisitions and Dispositions

• Represented joint venture sellers in the $565 million sale of two mixed-use office buildings comprising a total of 541,487 square feet of office space in the Spring District in Bellevue, Washington.
• Represented a development company in the acquisition and third-party construction financing for a large, planned development including platting of lots, drafting of the community CCRs, and ongoing sales of finished lots to regional and national homebuilders.
• Assisted a residential development company with the sale of a 135-unit luxury mixed-use apartment building.
• Represented a developer in the sale of the University of Washington’s Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) building for $85 million.

Leasing

• Represented a developer in the delivery of premises and subleasing of space leased by a major online retailer.
• Represented a landlord in a full office build-to-suit lease for a 320,000-square-foot space.
• Represented a developer in the modification of a long-term ground lease with the University of Washington.
• Represented a developer in the full lease of a 28,000-square-foot mixed-use restaurant/brewpub and office building.

Insights & Presentations

• Author, “Regional Real Estate Practice Guide: Washington,” Chambers USA: Regional Real Estate guide, 2018

• Included in the Best Lawyers in America^® (Real Estate Law), 2003–present
• Selected as one of “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” (Washington) by Chambers USA (Real Estate), 2005-present
• Named by Best Lawyers^® as Real Estate “Lawyer of the Year,” Seattle, 2010
• Included in Best in the Business: Leading Lawyers in the Puget Sound Region, Seattle Business magazine, Real Estate, 2013

Professional

• Washington State Bar Association, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Member
• King County Bar Association, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Member