As the “Dealmaker of the Year” for Real Estate in 2022, Riker Danzig’s Real Estate Group was featured in the New Jersey Law Journal article “Red Bulls Training Facility, Industrial Space Demand Drive Busy Year for Riker Danzig Real Estate Group.” Nicholas Racioppi, head of Riker Danzig’s Real Estate Group, participated in a Q&A about the group’s successes over the last year in the September 26, 2022 article.
In the article, Nick said, “Riker Danzig’s commercial real estate practice had the opportunity to work with our clients on some very exciting and groundbreaking transactions in the office, retail, industrial and multi-family spaces. For many of these multi-layered deals, we collaborated with multi-disciplinary teams in the firm, including often our environmental and corporate attorneys.
“One major deal that has been of great interest in the community and the state, as well as the sports world, is the development of the New York Red Bulls organization’s new headquarters and state-of-the-art training center in Morris County. As long-time supporters and season ticketholders, Riker Danzig could not be more pleased that the organization continues to rely on us as real estate counsel in major deals. We represented the Red Bulls in acquiring the 80-acre property, which is at the former Honeywell campus in Morris Township, negotiating all of the permitting and approvals in a months-long process. We continue to assist in the acquisition of adjoining land to be integrated with the site. Not only will the front office staff be located at the new headquarters, but the site will be home to the soccer team and its reserve squad, as well as the club’s highly acclaimed soccer academy and youth training facilities.
“We’ve also been involved in some very complex industrial space purchases and development across the country, involving millions of square feet of space,” Nick added.
When asked about the effect of COVID and other economic factors on the practice, Nick said, “While certain industries, particularly non-essential retail and hospitality, were certainly hit hard early in the pandemic (due to, among other things, cash flow issues and uncertainty), these industries have bounced back, and many of our clients were able to survive the pandemic due to creative deals that preserved outlays during this time. Perhaps more significantly, the increase in online shopping caused by the pandemic accelerated the demand for industrial spaces in the New Jersey market, which was already among the hottest markets in the country.”
The Law Journal asked, “Amid a changing market for legal services, what does it take to become a trusted transactional lawyer in New Jersey?”
Nick responded, “Becoming a trusted advisor to your clients requires going beyond being just an excellent attorney and delivering legal results, while always striving to be business-practical. Our clients become long-time clients because they develop confidence in us that comes from us being dedicated to their best interests. They know they can rely on us to relate to the challenges they’re facing and to understand the concerns that keep them up at night. Our clients see us as problem-solvers; we are committed to finding creative solutions to whatever issues they’re facing in their projects, and they know they can trust us to be aggressive when we need to be and to be innovative in resolving issues and accomplishing their goals. We help them succeed, which encourages them to see as a true partner.”
Read the full article at law.com (subscription required).
