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Geoffrey H. Smith

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[email protected]

+1.617.348.1767

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Geoff focuses his practice on commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, and financing, with a particular emphasis on office, laboratory, industrial, medical office building, and retail leasing. Additionally, he represents clients involved in real estate developments and guides them through all steps and issues they may encounter, including issues related to zoning and permitting. He is a trusted advisor to his clients, including property owners, developers, retailers, landlords and tenants operating regionally and nationally. He has extensive experience with transactions of all sizes and complexities, including sophisticated transactions across the country.

Before rejoining Mintz, he was a real estate attorney in the Boston office of another law firm, where he represented clients in real estate acquisition, leasing, and financing transactions as well as matters related to real estate development, zoning, and permitting. Geoff was also previously associated with Mintz’s Real Estate Practice as part of the team that represents a national retail chain in the acquisition, ground leasing, development, sale, and leaseback of hundreds of properties.

Experience

Leasing

  • Currently represents a multibillion-dollar REIT in connection with a nationwide leasing program for office and industrial properties including drafting and negotiating master lease forms for industrial, office and retail spaces.
  • Currently manages a multistate leasing program for a national real estate investment fund and their numerous US properties, including six office parks in Texas, nine office parks in California, five office parks in Massachusetts and a large office portfolio in Pennsylvania.
  • Currently manages a multistate leasing program for a national REIT in connection with its portfolio of over 100 medical office buildings (MOB).
  • Represents a regional developer in leasing transactions with retail and restaurant tenants related to a ground-up mixed-use development.
  • Represents shopping center owners and developers in leasing matters.
  • Represented landlords and tenants in connection with restaurant leases and fitness club leases.
  • Represented gourmet foods company in connection with leases of office and manufacturing facilities. 
  • Represented private and publicly traded companies in connection with significant tenant side office, R&D, laboratory, warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing leases, ground leases, and build to suit leases all across the country totaling millions of square feet. 

Acquisitions/Dispositions

  • Represented a publicly-traded REIT in connection with its acquisition of single-tenant industrial properties in multiple states.
  • Represented a real estate investment and management company in connection with the development and leasing of a large ground-up retail shopping center.
  • Represented an owner of several office buildings in the Boston area in acquisitions, dispositions, and financings as well as office space leasing to corporate and biotech tenants.
  • Represented a national supermarket chain in the acquisition, development, and financing of commercial and multi-use properties.
  • Represented a regional developer in leasing transactions with retail and restaurant tenants related to a ground-up development.
  • Represented Signify (f/k/a Philips Lighting) in connection with numerous sales of industrial and manufacturing facilities in multiple states.
  • Regularly manages real property aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions for public and private companies and investors across multiple industries.
  • Regularly represents healthcare industry investors in connection with owned and leased real property assets in connection with corporate mergers and acquisitions. 

Financing

  • Represented publicly traded REIT in connection with financing and refinancing transactions involving hundreds of properties across the country.
  • Represented medical device company in connection with construction financing for a headquarters building project.
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viewpoints

Mintz’s pro bono work for The Food Project, a nonprofit focused on youth development and reducing food insecurity, has included advising the organization on governance, real estate, employment, privacy, and litigation matters.
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In part one of our two part series we discussed a number of the menu options that may be available to commercial landlords and tenants to help them protect their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, but few of those options we discussed in part one are without their own unique set of hurdles.
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The interruption to business-as-usual in the commercial real estate industry brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and, while hopefully only temporary, the full extent of the impact may not be entirely understood for some time to come. Below, we explore just some of the options both landlords and tenants will want to consider when looking to answer that question.
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Co-working centers and shared office space arrangements have exploded onto the commercial real estate scene recently and offer attractive alternatives for many small businesses, early stage start-ups, incubators and freelancers to more traditional long-term office leases or work-from-home arrangements.
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News & Press

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Mintz represented the US Department of Energy (DoE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) in the closing of a $1.45 billion loan guarantee to Hanwha Q Cells Georgia, Inc. (QCells), a leading North American crystalline silicon solar manufacturer. 

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Mintz announced today that 42 of its practices and 83 of its attorneys earned recognition in the 2024 edition of Chambers USA, a guide to the country’s leading law firms. Of those included in the guide, 18 attorneys and seven practice areas were awarded Chambers’ highest ranking, Band 1. The firm obtained new listings in three practice areas and 10 of its lawyers were recognized for the first time.

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BOSTON - Mintz and ML Strategies were recognized with the prestigious Nicholas Humber Award for Outstanding Collaboration by the Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC) at the 30th Annual EBEE Awards in Boston.

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BOSTON –Mintz announced today that 39 of its practices and 81 of its attorneys earned recognition in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA, a guide to the country’s leading law firms.

Mintz Associates Jennifer Sacco Smith and Geoff Smith authored this Law360 article on the increasing presence of shared workspaces in commercial real estate, and the respective concern for property owners, shared workspace providers, and end users.
Fifty-three Mintz attorneys have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers for 2016 and thirty-one have been named Massachusetts Rising Stars. The findings will be published in the November 2016 issue of Boston Magazine and in a stand-alone magazine, New England Super Lawyers. 
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Events & Speaking

Recognition & Awards

  • Chambers USA: Massachusetts – Real Estate (2021 - 2024)

  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers: Rising Star (2012 – 2016)

  • Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce's Boston's Future Leaders Program (2018)

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Involvement

  • Co-Chair, Boston Bar Association Leasing Subcommittee (2015-2017)
  • Member, Boston Bar Association Real Estate Steering Committee (2015-2017)
  • Member, NAIOP Massachusetts, Commercial Real Estate Development Association
  • Member, Boston Bar Association
  • Member, International Council of Shopping Centers
  • Member, Real Estate Bar Association
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