Richard D. Rudman

Richard D. Rudman

Partner
About

Richard Rudman focuses his practice on real estate development and finance, joint venture arrangements, property acquisition, leasing and land use, and environmental regulation.

Richard represents institutional investors, including real estate funds and tax-exempt investors, in the acquisition of investment properties and in sophisticated equity and participating debt investments in locations across the country.

Richard has been the lead lawyer on a number of major development projects, including downtown office towers, suburban office parks, urban and suburban multi-family residential projects, hotels and medical research/laboratory buildings. He has extensive experience in build-to-suit developments and projects with complicated phasing arrangements, environmentally contaminated sites, contentious permitting issues and public/private development agreements.

Bar admissionsMassachusetts

EXPERIENCE

Representative Projects
  • Suffolk Downs: Representation of The HYM Investment Group in the redevelopment of the 161 acre former Suffolk Downs racetrack for more than 16 million square feet of residential, office, retail, and hotel development, including the formation of a multi-tier ownership structure, acquisition financing, and a two year State and local permitting effort involving more than $50 million in transportation improvements and zoning amendments and approvals in both Revere and Boston
  • 105 West First Street: Representation of Tishman Speyer Properties in the acquisition of a site in South Boston for a 250,000 square foot office and laboratory building and subsequent development of the project, which is expected to break ground in the first quarter of 2020
  • Pier 4: Representation of Tishman Speyer Properties in the acquisition of the Pier 4 Development Project, the development of a 350,000 square foot office building, a luxury condominium building, ground floor retail space and a waterfront park, and the subsequent sale of the office building
  • Representation of National Development Associates of New England and its affiliated Charles River Realty investment funds for various development projects, including Longwood Center in the Harvard Medical Area, Ink Block, the Cleveland Circle mixed use project, a major land assembly in South Boston, and senior housing projects in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and New York, involving the formation of joint ventures with institutional investors, land owners, hotel companies, and senior housing operators and in many instances creation of ownership structures and construction financing allowing for separate ownership of different project components and compliance with REIT requirements
  • Representation of Marcus Partners, Inc. and its affiliated investment funds on acquisitions, joint ventures, leasing, financing and sales of office, medical office, multi-family and industrial properties in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Washington D.C.
  • Omni Seaport Hotel: Representation of The Davis Companies in the formation of multiple tiered joint ventures with the Omni Hotel Company, a national pension fund advisor, and local investors for the $550,000,000 1,000 room Omni Hotel that is under construction across the street from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston’s Seaport District
  • EF Cambridge Campus: Representation of EF Education First for its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, including the development of a 300,000 square foot headquarters building on a site acquired from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation next to the Charles River and the subsequent development of a housing facility for 500 students on the site of a former Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation vehicle maintenance facility. These projects required special legislation for each State land sale, a zoning amendment, PUD special permits, sign variances, review under the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act, and approval of Chapter 91 licenses
  • NorthPoint: Representation of a joint venture of The HYM Investment Group and a Canyon Johnson investment fund for NorthPoint, a former 45 acre rail yard in Cambridge, Somerville and Boston, permitted for development of 20 buildings containing approximately 5,250,000 square feet of multi-family residential, office, laboratory and retail space. This work included approval of zoning changes and special permit amendments in Cambridge for a new master plan, amendments to the Somerville Zoning Code, construction financing and a subsequent sale of Twenty|20, a 355 unit rental apartment tower, and ultimately the sale of the rest of the site to a new developer
  • Pacific Park: Representation of Greenland Group in its joint venture with Forest City for the $5 billion Pacific Park/Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, New York. This is a multi-use project covering over 23 acres in Brooklyn, NY consisting of over 6,400 residential units, and is one of the largest residential projects under development in the US
  • One World Trade Center: Representation of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the formation of a joint venture with the Durst Organization for One World Trade Center, a 3,000,000 square foot office tower at the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan
  • University Station: Representation of a public pension fund in the formation of a joint venture for the development of a 500,000 sf retail center and sale of office, residential and senior housing development sites in Westwood, MA
  • Charles River Plaza: Redevelopment of Charles River Plaza in downtown Boston, including all zoning and other governmental approvals, leasing, and financing for the development of 425,000 square feet of new lab/medical/office space above an existing mixed-use property, followed by a US$240 million sale of a portion of the project utilizing a condominium ownership structure
  • 33 Arch Street: Development of 33 Arch Street, a 600,000 square foot Boston office tower, including acquisition of land, air rights and existing approvals, additional permitting for redesign, construction and post-construction financing, leasing, the formation of a joint venture with institutional investors and a subsequent recapitalization of the equity ownership
  • Marriott's Custom House: Representation of Marriott in the redevelopment of the Boston Custom House, Boston’s first office tower and a landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as an urban timeshare resort, including the negotiation of a long-term ground lease with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, all zoning and other governmental approvals and the creation of a condominium timeshare ownership structure
  • One Federal Street: Representation of the building owner in the negotiation of a 300,000 square foot law firm lease and the subsequent sale of the property, a one million square foot office tower in Boston’s Financial District, for more than US$500 million
  • The Clarendon: Site acquisition, zoning approvals and other permitting matters for The Clarendon, a 32 story multifamily residential tower being developed in Boston’s Back Bay district
  • Reservoir Woods: Representation of Davis Marcus Partners in the formation of joint ventures with Prudential Real Estate Investors for the development of Reservoir Woods, a 120 acre corporate campus with more than 1,300,000 square feet of office space in Waltham, MA, and representation of the joint ventures in subdividing the campus through condominium ownership, permitting, leasing, construction and permanent financing, and sale transactions
Education
  • J.D., Harvard Law School 1982
    cum laude
  • B.A., History and Economics, Yale University 1979
    summa cum laude
    with distinction

Awards

  • Chambers USA
    • Band 1, Massachusetts Real Estate (2012-2023)
  • The Legal 500 United States
    • Recommended, Land Use / Zoning (2016)
  • Elected to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (2001)

Pro Bono

Richard served as a founder and original co-chair of the Lawyers Clearinghouse on Affordable Housing and Homelessness, a pro bono program sponsored by the Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations.

Since 1999, Richard has served as the pro-bono counsel to the Board of Trustees of the Boston Arts Academy, Boston's public arts high school for the visual and performing arts. He has also served as a Member of the Board of Trustees, Chairman of the Facilities Committee and an officer of the Boston Arts Academy Foundation. In 2014, the BAA gave Richard is annual "Apollo Award" for his efforts on behalf of the school.

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