Economic Development & Public Finance

Through decades of experience, we know the nuances of these transactions and suggest the best structure for our clients’ financing needs.

Overview

We’ve been our clients’ trusted advisors in economic development and public finance transactions for over 30 years. We serve as general bond counsel and issuer’s counsel to state and local governments and authorities, as well as counsel to private parties doing business with or before governmental bodies, including conduit issuers, underwriters, borrowers, purchasers, trustees, and credit providers. Our focused knowledge, experience at the state and local government levels, and the relationships we’ve built over decades enable us to help both public entities and private companies navigate the complexities of public finance to achieve the best financing deal.

We’re proud to help clients improve their communities. A variety of major public projects were built through the deals we’ve helped structure, including projects in higher education, transportation, solid waste and wastewater management, mixed-use, retail, industrial, commercial, as well as healthcare and housing facilities. To support our clients’ projects, we’ve counseled them on structuring general obligation bonds, 501(c)(3) financings, and both tax-exempt and taxable securities.

Our broad experience in the nuances of public finance allows us to suggest the perfect structure for their financing needs, including putting together unique, mix-and-match deals. We’ve handled tax increment financing for infrastructure, infrastructure development districts, tax-exempt financing for privately owned so-called “exempt facilities,” and sophisticated financings for real estate and economic development.

We’re at the forefront of developments in public finance, so we can maximize the benefit of our work to our clients. Our attorneys speak at real estate and financing conferences, and their leadership in the field of public finance has been recognized by their yearly inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® lists.

Experience

  • Represented the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR) and an affiliated entity in obtaining loans subsidized by NMTCs totaling $24 million to finance the construction of an approximately 42,000 square foot museum and event space in Atlanta, Georgia, that will include a gallery for the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection and civil rights and human rights exhibitions. The representation included structuring and negotiating a leverage loan to the NMTC investment fund, a master lease structure, and the documentation of the charitable contribution from a third party of the land upon which the facility will be built.
  • Represented Benteler Steel/Tube Manufacturing Corp. in a $900 million manufacturing project in Louisiana.
  • Represented an internet service provider in a $1+ billion facility in Georgia.
  • Currently represents the Development Authority of Fulton County, the most prolific local issuer of tax-exempt and taxable obligations for economic development purposes in Georgia in connection with the issuance of over $15 billion in private activity, 501(c)(3), and taxable bonds for a wide variety of projects, including hospitals, museums, college, secondary and elementary school facilities, dormitories and facilities, multifamily housing, retirement care, commercial, mixed-use, and industrial uses.
  • Represented the State of Georgia in successful negotiations for a $1.2 billion KIA auto assembly facility.
  • AGG attorneys currently serve as general counsel to The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority (which owns the Grady Health System facilitates).
  • Represented a major film studio with financing matters and entertainment tax credits.
  • Served as underwriter’s counsel for a 2014 City of Atlanta General Obligation Refunding Bond financing.
  • Represented a charitable organization and an affiliated leverage lender in closing three phases of New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) subsidized loans for a $100+ million facilities expansion. The total amount of NMTC-subsidized debt through the three phases was $54 million and involved three unrelated CDE lenders and three different NMTC investors.
  • Represented a tax-exempt university and an affiliated special purpose borrower/landlord entity in obtaining $20 million of debt subsidized by NMTCs to be used to construct an approximately 60,000 square foot facility consisting of museum galleries, art storage and museum infrastructure, theater, and classroom space.
  • Representing a Fortune 100 national food distribution company as outside North American real estate counsel with regard to all acquisitions, developments, leases, and dispositions of real estate in the United States and Canada.
  • Assisted a Japanese manufacturing client with site selection, environmental due diligence, land development permits, and negotiation with local, county, and state authorities to obtain various economic incentives and applications for Georgia Industrial Wastewater Discharge and Air Emission permits in connection with the construction and development of new plant near Griffin, Georgia.
  • Represented a major internet service provider in the acquisition of property for a data center and in the issuance of taxable revenue bonds.
  • Representation of community development entities in obtaining determinations of CDE status; applying for and obtaining allocations of NMTC authority from the CDFI Fund and receiving Qualified Equity Investments; and making Qualified Low-Income Community Investments in a variety of projects.
  • Represented a state financing agency, Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, in structuring transactions with local governments for the acquisition, construction, and operation of reservoirs and wells for $300 million of water supply projects.
  • Represented the Georgia World Congress Center Authority in a significant long-term ground lease transaction for the College Football Hall of Fame, involving private and commercial parties and lenders.
  • Currently represents the Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Authority of Fulton County in connection with the financing of continuing care retirement community and retirement home facilities.
    Client Successes

    Recognition

    Southern Business & Development has named AGG one of the best economic development law firms in the South.

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