Julie A. Drewes

Julie practices primarily in the areas of commercial real estate acquisitions and dispositions and commercial real estate finance.

Julie concentrates her practice on representing real estate investment funds, REITs and development companies in a variety of commercial real estate and finance transactions. In recent years, she has had a particular focus on real estate acquisitions, dispositions and financings involving multi-property, multi-state portfolios.

Additionally, Julie also has commercial lending experience includes handling multi-site franchise financing transactions, real estate loans and workouts. She also has significant experience representing both lenders and borrowers in facilitating construction loan financing for office, industrial, retail and condominium projects located throughout the country.

Julie received her bachelor of science, summa cum laude, in chemistry from Bradley University, where she was an NCAA Woman of the Year national nominee. She received her law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she was a managing editor of the Minnesota Law Review and elected to the Order of the Coif.

• Represented a national real estate investment fund in the portfolio sale of 17 office and industrial facilities located in nine states with an aggregate purchase price of more than $235 million closing simultaneously.
• Represented a national real estate investment fund in the simultaneous sale of a portfolio of 12 office and industrial facilities located across nine states, with an aggregate purchase price of more than $202 million.
• Represented a public REIT in the acquisition of a portfolio of more than 20 industrial buildings (approximately two million square feet) in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, in a two-phase closing with a purchase price exceeding $100 million.
• Represented a national developer in the construction financing of a 235-bed student housing mixed-use development on the University of Minnesota campus.
• Represented as U.S. counsel, a public REIT in the acquisitions and financings of (a) a regional office headquarters facility in Florida leased by a Fortune 500 tenant, (b) an office complex in Arizona leased by a Fortune 100 tenant, (c) a regional headquarters facility in New York leased to a major U.S. insurance company, and (d) a portfolio of five retail projects in Minnesota leased by major national retailers.
• Represented the buyer on the acquisition and financing of a 12-story office tower in suburban Minneapolis.
• Represented a private real estate fund in the acquisition and financing of a seven-building industrial portfolio in Atlanta.
• Represented a national real estate developer in connection with the restructuring of a condominium construction loan in Florida in excess of $80 million.
• Represented an educational company tenant in the negotiation of more than 60 commercial leases throughout the U.S. and its territories over the course of one year.
• Represented a national bank in a $19 million real estate construction loan transaction for an office facility in Wisconsin.
• Represented as real estate counsel, a franchisee in the acquisition, from the national franchisor, of fee and ground leasehold interests in a portfolio of 37 quick-serve restaurant sites.
• Represented an enterprise telecommunications services provider in the negotiation of the retail sale of telecommunications equipment and services integrating multiple nationwide locations of a Fortune 500 financial company.