Wallace L. Schwartz
The Grace Building
1114 Avenue of the Americas
32nd Floor
New York, New York 10036
Wallace Schwartz is a preeminent real estate attorney with more than 40 years’ experience advising commercial real estate clients. His practice includes commercial real estate development, acquisitions, leasing, partnerships and joint ventures, capital markets and financings, gaming, hospitality, workouts and restructurings, and real estate funds.
Wally has advised on projects that have transformed urban landscapes, most notably the one million-square-foot retail development in New York City’s Hudson Yards, where he represented The Related Companies and Oxford Property Group. He has recently represented clients who bought and sold major Manhattan office buildings for purchase prices totaling more than $2 billion. Nationally, Wally is representing The Related Companies in joint venture development projects in Washington, D.C., West Palm Beach, Florida, Los Angeles, and Santa Clara, California. He has also represented an array of other major real estate players nationwide, including Boston Properties, Westbrook Partners, iStar Inc., Brookfield Properties, Taconic Investment Partners, WPT Industrial REIT, Fetner Properties and Rockpoint Group.
Chambers USA quotes clients who have described Wally as “very results-oriented, hard-working and accessible,” adding that “he always remains calm and finds solutions for tense negotiations.” In addition to Chambers, Wally has been recognized in numerous other publications, including Legal Media Group’s Guide to the World’s Leading Real Estate Lawyers.
Wally is Co-Head of the Real Estate practice group.
Experience Highlights
Rockpoint Group in the $465 million acquisition of 1700 Broadway and the $565 million acquisition of One Dag Hammarskojld Plaza in Manhattan
The Related Companies in the sale of Snowmass development properties, including the Viceroy Hotel and condominium project in Snowmass Village, Colorado
A consortium led by JDS Development in mortgage and mezzanine financing for the construction of a proposed high-end condominium project in South Beach, Miami, Florida
The Related Companies/Oxford Property Group in the one million-square-foot retail project at Hudson Yards, including the 250,000-square-foot lease to anchor tenant Neiman Marcus
WeWork in leases in Manhattan and Long Island City
Starwood Capital and LNR Partners in the modification of mortgage and mezzanine construction financing for a luxury condominium project in Manhattan
Paramount Group Real Estate Fund in the $1 billion sale of the Deutsche Bank Headquarters building at 60 Wall Street in Manhattan
Blackstone Group in the acquisition of The Shops at SkyView Center in Flushing, Queens
Bridge Investment Group in the development of a premier hotel and casino resort being built on the island of Tinian in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
The Related Companies in the equity joint venturing of a 1,200-acre master development community in Tuxedo, New York, and the joint venture development of a $200 million mixed-use residential project at 909 Half Street in Washington, D.C.
Starwood Capital Group in the acquisition of the leasehold interest at 1372 Broadway in Manhattan
Hudson River Trust Park in a $100 million transfer of approximately 200,000 square feet of air rights from Pier 40 on Manhattan’s west side
Westbrook Partners in the sale of a 144,000-square-foot office building location at 31 W. 27th Street in Manhattan
Bank of China as a co-lender in the $161 million mortgage refinancing of four office buildings in Alexandria, Virgina
The Related Companies in a mortgage and mezzanine refinancing of a residential project in Washington, D.C.
Starwood Capital Group in the acquisition and participation of mezzanine debt, and the acquisition, as mezzanine lender, of senior debt in default
JDS Development in a $137 million construction loan for a high-end residential project in South Beach, Miami, Florida
The Related Companies in the mortgage and mezzanine construction financing of the Hilton West Palm Beach in Florida
Penn National Gaming in a transaction involving the Plainridge Park Casino, a $225 million integrated racing and gaming facility located in Plainville, Massachusetts; and proposed gaming projects in New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania and California
The Related Companies in the sale of the Viceroy Hotel and condominium project in Snowmass Village, Colorado
Boston Properties in transactions involving 250 West 55th Street, 399 Park and 601 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan
Oxford Property Group in the development and leasing of a $2.6 billion project in lower Manhattan
Borders Group with respect to the disposition of real estate assets throughout the country in its bankruptcy and liquidation
Capital Trust in the restructuring of a mezzanine loan, and a mortgage loan secured by property located in Miami, Florida
The Related Companies in the modification of mortgage loans secured by properties in New York, Michigan and Florida
Credentials
- Cornell Law School, J.D., 1977
- Harvard University, B.A., 1974
- New York Law Journal, “Distinguished Leader,” 2018
- The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings, LLC), Real Estate Law (New York), 2018−2025
- Chambers USA, Real Estate Law (New York), 2007–2019; Real Estate: Mainly Dirt (New York), 2020–2024
- Legal 500 U.S., Real Estate, 2011−2024
- Selected to the New York Super Lawyers list, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2006−2023
- Legal Media Group, Guide to the World’s Leading Real Estate Lawyers, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018
- Who’s Who Legal International Who’s Who of Real Estate Lawyers (Law Business Research Ltd.), 2011−2018
- New York
- Rankings & AwardsJune 12, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsJune 6, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsSeptember 22, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 21, 2023
- InsightJuly 17, 2023
V&E Real Estate Update
- Rankings & AwardsJune 12, 2023
- Event RecapJune 7, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsJune 1, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 18, 2022
- Rankings & AwardsJune 16, 2022
- Rankings & AwardsJune 1, 2022
- InsightMarch 31, 2022
- Rankings & AwardsMarch 29, 2022
- Deals & CasesFebruary 16, 2022
- Deals & CasesJuly 15, 2021