Business and Legal Issues in Real Estate Development (B. Fal*k)

This course is designed as an interdisciplinary course for business and law students and will focus on the legal and business aspects of real estate development. The course will also be available to a limited number of public policy and city and regional planning students. The course will include consideration of every aspect of the acquisition, planning, entitlement, environmental review, political, community support, legal and initiative challenge, and ultimate disposition of a fully-entitled, 1500-acre unit master planned property in California. The course will analyze the legal, environmental (including green technology and smart growth), business, and strategic components of each stage of the development and entitlement process from the perspective of developers, lawyers, community groups, political decision-makers, and environmental organizations. Law students will learn to evaluate business risks and to make business decisions regarding real estate, and business students will gain a conceptual framework for understanding legal issues regarding real estate development. Course materials will include legal and business cases, statutes, contracts, private placement memoranda, partnership and operating agreements, initiatives, land plans, and environmental documents. There will be frequent guest lecturers who are expert in each of the areas covered by the course.

Exam Notes: TH