Jessica Straley is an experienced real estate lawyer who starts every engagement by listening to the needs of her clients and then works to formulate a strategy that meets their short- and long-term goals and objectives. She works with institutional and entrepreneurial investors, sponsors, and developers in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, including development, joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions, real estate financings, and workouts and restructuring of distressed assets, joint ventures, and debt. Jessica also advises clients on the real estate aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions.

Jessica is a member of Winstead's leadership team and serves as Co-Chair of the firm's Real Estate Development & Investments Practice Group.

• Acquisitions and Dispositions: Represents developers and equity investors in the acquisition, forward-sale and disposition of single assets and multi-property portfolios of commercial real estate in all stages of development in various asset classes, including industrial, cold storage, multifamily, student housing, retail and office
• Joint Venture Investments: Represents developers and equity investors in the structuring, negotiation and administration of joint ventures for all stages of a real estate investment and development
• Development: Represents developers and equity investors in all stages of the development and construction of multifamily projects, student housing developments, retail centers and industrial facilities, including industrial build-to-suit and speculative projects for distribution, warehouse, cold storage and other tenants and users in the logistics industry
• Financings: Represents a wide variety of borrowers in connection with permanent and construction loans for acquisition, development and ongoing operations of real estate projects

Representative Experience

• Represented equity investor in the single- and multi-phased development of speculative and build-to-suit industrial portfolio totaling over $1 billion in value.
• Represented foreign institutional equity investor in the workout and restructuring of distressed multifamily portfolio and related debt.
• Represented equity investor in development of medical office building in Frisco, Texas.
• Represented developer and sponsor in acquisition and recapitalization of cold storage portfolio and related joint venture structuring.
• Represented developer and sponsor in structuring of programmatic platform for development, financing and leasing of cold storage assets with captive equity investor.
• Represented foreign institutional equity investor in the redemption, restructuring and disposition of senior living portfolio.
• Represented developer and sponsor in multi-phase development of multifamily project in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Represented developer and sponsor in joint venture structuring and development of various industrial and distribution facilities totaling over $250 million in value.
• Represented developer in all stages of acquisition, ground lease, development, governance, and financing of industrial parks and logistics and distribution facilities across Texas totaling over $500 million in value.
• Represented developer in acquisition and structuring of ground lease interest at major U.S. airport for development of industrial project.
• Represented equity investor in the acquisition, restructuring and redevelopment of a regional enclosed mall in Atlanta, Georgia for use by a major university medical school.
• Represented privately-held REIT in connection with acquisition of various multifamily projects across the United States totaling over $1.2 billion in value.
• Represented developer and sponsor in acquisition of land for lot development and finished lot transactions for national home builders across Texas.
• Represented equity investor in the creation and structuring of high-volume programmatic pad-site development platform.
• Represented developer and sponsor in joint venture structuring of town-home and other multifamily development across Texas.
• Represented public pension fund in the development and joint venture structuring of an urban medical research and development project in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Represented high-net-worth investor in connection with the acquisition, condominiumization and redevelopment of trophy office building in downtown Dallas, Texas.
• Represented publicly-traded real estate company in the development of signature luxury hotel properties in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and New York.
• Represented foreign developer in acquisition of land for development of entertainment and hospitality venues to support sports arena in Dallas, Texas.
• Represented a foreign investor in acquisition of a controlling interest in the New Jersey Nets and minority interest in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
• Represented a global car manufacturer in the international real estate aspects of the sale of one of its major brands.
• Represented a creditor in the international real estate aspects of a bankruptcy settlement of a prolific national company.
• Represented a quasi-governmental entity on the development of a joint venture with a major New York real estate developer and procurement of a credit facility indirectly secured by its multifamily portfolio.
• Represented a foreign investor on the development and implementation of a platform with a domestic property manager for acquisition, development and management of domestic real estate.
• Represented a New York investor in acquisition, disposition and financing transactions for New York City real estate.