Tom Schnorr, a partner with the firm, focuses his practice on complex real estate acquisition, development, land use, and financing matters, particularly for clients in the affordable housing, biomedical, and telecommunications industries.
Notable Experience
- Represented Roxbury Tenants of Harvard Association, Inc.. in connection with its acquisition, rehabilitation, and refinancing of the Mission Park complex (775 affordable rental apartments, 40,000 square feet of medical office space, and a 1,380-car subsurface parking garage) from Harvard University and Citicorp Real Estate. Work involved obtaining Chapter 121A public approvals from the Boston Redevelopment Authority and negotiating and closing $18 million in low-income housing tax credit equity provided by the Massachusetts Equity Fund, $48.6 million in MassHousing mortgage financing, and $10 million in mortgage financing from Brookline Savings Bank.
- Represented E.T.C. Development Corporation in connection with its rehabilitation and refinancing of the Viviendas Apartments, South End Apartments, and Victoria Apartments in Boston (approximately 400 affordable housing rental units in all). Work included obtaining Chapter 121A approvals, negotiating and closing the advance partial defeasance (before the permitted redemption date) of the original tax-exempt bond financing for the Victoria Apartments project, and negotiating and closing an aggregate of $21,578,000 in low-income housing tax credits provided by the Massachusetts Housing Equity Fund and $51,139,000 in MassHousing mortgage financing.
- Represented Amgen Inc. in connection with its acquisition, permitting, development, and leasing of the state-of-the-art 300,000-square-foot Amgen Center bioscience building at Kendall Square in Cambridge.
- Represented Genzyme Corporation in negotiating the build-to-suit lease for the company's new 300,000-square-foot headquarters building in Cambridge Research Park.
- Represented AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. as it has sought zoning approvals for its network of more than 200 wireless telecommunications facilities in the Greater Boston area. That work has involved appearing before hostile zoning and planning boards, as well as negotiating with municipalities to amend their zoning bylaws to accommodate the wireless industry.
Other Distinctions
Fulbright Fellow, Munich, Germany (1970-71)