Partner

Jonathan S. Baker

Real Estate, Real Estate Litigation, Corporate Real Estate Services

Chicago +1 312 701 8486

jbaker2@mayerbrown.com

“Jonathan Baker is a rising star in the practice. He brings a practical approach and calm demeanor to the most challenging transactions.”

Legal 500

Overview

Jonathan Baker represents US and foreign private equity funds, real estate investment trusts, insurance companies, opportunity funds, developers and other institutional investors in all types of equity and debt real estate transactions, including joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions, mortgage and mezzanine financings, loan restructuring and workouts, sale-leasebacks, preferred equity investments, secondary sales and syndications, and developments. Clients rely on him for counsel involving all types of real estate assets including office buildings, apartment complexes, retail centers, industrial and logistics facilities, hotels, medical office buildings, student housing, self-storage, single-family rental portfolios, life science, data center and assisted-living facilities. He represents equity investors in the creation of joint ventures for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating all classes of real estate assets. His joint venture work also includes significant experience in cross-border joint venture transactions that use complex tax structures. Jonathan also represents financial institutions in private placements and financings involving credit tenant loans.

Experience

Represented:

A foreign insurance company in the formation of a series of multi-party joint ventures for the purpose of acquiring and developing logistics properties in North America. The total equity commitments of the joint venture partners totaled over $2.5 billion.
A foreign insurance company in its acquisition of a 43% stake in 10 Hudson Yards in New York, New York that valued the property at $1.95 billion. Transaction included negotiation of multi-tier joint venture agreements and a loan assumption.
A foreign insurance company its acquisition of a 44 percent stake in 30 Hudson Yards in New York in a recapitalization transaction that valued the property at $2.15 billion.
A foreign insurance company in its acquisition of a 43 percent stake in a mixed-use building in New York City located in Times Square that valued the 1.86 million-square-foot tower at $1.95 billion.

A foreign insurance company in the restructuring of the debt and equity of a multi-party joint venture to develop a large office asset in NYC with a total capitalization of $2.3 billion.
A German real estate fund in the $802 million acquisition of Google's Lakefront Blocks office campus in Seattle's South Lake Union district
A private equity fund in formation of a series of joint ventures to acquire and/or develop a large-scale portfolio of workforce housing projects throughout the United States and subsequent syndication of those interests to secondary investors.
A private equity fund in a series of preferred equity investments (structured as mezzanine loans) to develop for-sale residential condominiums in the Washington D.C. area.
Representation of a foreign insurance company in the recapitalization of an approximately 1,114,000 square foot multi-story, build-to-suit, last mile logistics facility in Queens, New York City that was structured as a preferred equity investment during construction, with a forward purchase conversion to common equity upon substantial completion.
Foreign insurance company in the formation of a strategic programmatic joint venture with a U.S. REIT that will invest in select US commercial properties. The companies have initially contributed $1.26 billion in assets to the venture and are seeking additional assets to jointly acquire.
Multiple institutional lenders in over 40 private placement credit tenant loans totaling over $2.2 billion in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, California, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, North Carolina, and Florida.
Foreign insurance company in the acquisition of a 45% interest in a joint venture that owns and operates student housing facilities in which valued the properties at $824 million and the capitalization of the new joint venture included the origination of $330 million of debt.
A foreign insurance company in the formation of a joint venture with an industrial developer through the direct sale of a 49 percent stake in a 19-asset, 6.1 million-square-foot US industrial portfolio valued at a little over $600 million.
Foreign insurance company in the $421 million purchase of an office building in Washington DC as part of its joint venture with a U.S. REIT.
Foreign insurance company in the formation of a joint venture with a U.S. REIT to acquire an iconic mixed use (commercial and retail) office building in San Francisco, CA for a purchase price of $291 million.
A publicly traded REIT in a $1.2 billion mortgage and mezzanine loan transaction, the proceeds of which were used to purchase the seeding assets of the REIT in conjunction with the REIT's initial public offering.
Retail operating company in multiple restructurings of a $1.3 billion sale-leaseback transaction.
Foreign investment fund in the $110 million sale-leaseback of a hotel in Chicago, IL.
Foreign investment fund in the $145 million sale-leaseback of a hotel in Portland, OR.
Open-end fund in the disposition of an office building in Chicago for a purchase price of $360 million.
Foreign investment fund in a series of acquisitions of industrial properties in Hartford, Connecticut and St. Louis, Missouri totaling more than $150 million.
Private equity fund in the sale of a portion of the interests in an existing joint venture with a developer and formation of an upper-tier joint venture with a state pension fund in a transaction that valued the underlying property, a mall in Hawaii at $236 million.
Foreign insurance company in the formation of a joint venture and the $365 million acquisition of an office park in Miami, Florida, including multiple development parcels.
Foreign insurance company in the formation of a joint venture and the $215 million acquisition of a ground lease of an office building in New York, NY, the transaction included the formation and public offering of a private REIT.

Related Services & Industries

Services

Industries

Publications & Presentations

Education

University of Notre Dame Law School, JD, magna cum laude
Articles Editor Notre Dame Law Review; Dean's List
Pepperdine University, BA, cum laude

Admissions

Illinois

Jonathan S. Baker

Overview

Experience

Related Services & Industries

Services

Industries

Publications & Presentations

Publications

CARES Act Considerations for Certain Multifamily Landlords and Tenants in the US

News

Mayer Brown advises Deka on acquisition of Google’s Seattle campus

Education

Admissions