Month: July 2006

Local Lawyers Donate Time to Help Others

By Sharon Harvey Rosenberg

Lawyers have donated about 1.5 million hours to pro bono cases over the past year, according to data from the Florida Bar Association.

Local Florida Bar Association members are also active as volunteers. In Fort Lauderdale, Thomas Angelo — managing shareholder of Angelo & Banta — uses his expertise and contacts in real estate law to assist the Florida Museum of Science and Discovery.

Angelo, who serves as chairman of the museum on a pro bono basis, was recently alarmed when the museum faced a sharp increase (nearly 1,000 percent) in its windstorm insurance coverage. “We had a huge crisis,” he said.

Using his real estate contacts, Angelo recruited a new insurance broker and was able to secure a better deal on windstorm coverage for the organization.

Angelo has also recruited peers and friends from the legal sector to lend their financial support and expertise to the museum’s capital campaign to fund an upcoming expansion plan. “I really like getting my friends and business associates involved. Everybody wins, especially the children.” he said.

Firms managing partner named heavy hitter in South Florida real estate for second consecutive year by South Florida Business Journal

If a company is known by the clients it serves and keeps, the boutique law firm led by Thomas Angelo is famous. The three largest domestic financial institutions – Bank of America, Wachovia, and Citibank- all trust his firm with closing their financial transactions. Last year, Angelo closed a $208 million Bank of America syndicated construction loan to the Related Cos., financing a 1,000-unit high-rise Miami condominium project.

He and his team also represent a host of real estate developers and major lenders throughout the region. They close a $116 million transaction that involved the Lehman Brothers and Corus Bank for the Peninsula, a 234-unit luxury condominium development by American Land Ventures on Jacksonville’s St. Johns River.

It’s not all money, deals and land for Angelo. He also has his eye on the stars as third-term board chairman for the Museum of Discovery and Science.

Angelo & Banta Law Firm closes over $100 million in development financing for the Peninsula

A Luxury Condominium Project on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida

FT. LAUDERDALE – Angelo & Banta, P.A. recently represented American Land Ventures of Miami in closing mezzanine debt and a $86 million construction loan to build a 37-story, 234 unit luxury condominium tower in Jacksonville, Florida.

The 234-unit condominium is the second phase of a three phase project on the St. Johns River, which includes a luxury apartment tower and retail space. The condominium is expected to be completed by August 2007. The Peninsula will offer a number of community amenities and conveniences to its residents. The Peninsula’s residents will enjoy magnificent, broad-sweeping views of the St. Johns River. Building amenities will include a grand two-story lobby featuring custom-designed spaces with modern artwork, retail space, a library, business center, Internet Cafe, and private rooftop club. Residents will also enjoy a fitness center and health spa outfitted with the latest in weight and cardiovascular training equipment, a yoga and Pilates studio, massage and treatment rooms and a meditation garden. The development will offer immediate proximity to an above ground monorail that provides passenger transport in and around the Downtown Jacksonville CBD. The unit mix is comprised of one-, two- and three-bedroom units average approximately 1,700 square feet with unit prices averaging approximately $600,000.

Madison Capital Group helped arrange the financing with Corus Bank and Lehman Brothers.

Corus Bank of Chicago, Il, provided an $86 million construction loan and was represented by lawyers Mark C. Simon and Brian Sheedy of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP.

Lehman Brothers of New York, NY, provided the mezzanine financing and was represented by Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf LLP.

Angelo & Banta Law Firm closes $32 million credit facility for Gate Parkway Investors, LLC

FT. LAUDERDALE – The firm’s managing shareholder, Thomas P. Angelo, partner, David F. Hanley, and associate, Philip M. Hanaka of Angelo & Banta, P.A. recently represented LaSalle Bank National Association in closing a $14.5 million acquisition and development loan, and a $17.5 million construction loan, for a total credit facility of $32 million, to Gate Parkway Investors, LLC to finance the acquisition, development and construction of Gate Parkway West in Jacksonville. Eduardo Avila executed the loan documents on behalf of Gate Parkway Investors, LLC.

Gate Parkway Investors, LLC intends to construct a 22-building, 344-unit mixed-use development located at Gate Parkway Extension in Jacksonville, Florida. The developer was represented by Neil S. Rollnick, Esq. of Adorno & Yoss in Miami.