Leila Batties is a partner in the Real Estate Section at Holland & Knight, with a focus on land use and zoning. In this capacity, she represents property owners, developers and investors in numerous aspects of the real estate development process. She routinely works on legislative and policy matters; appears before governmental boards in order to secure comprehensive plan amendments, rezonings and site plan approvals; negotiates and drafts covenants and agreements; and handles permitting issues. Her work also includes coordinating various tasks with architects, traffic engineers and other project consultants, as well as communications with various stakeholders, including government agencies, property owners, and neighborhood and civic associations. She conducts land use and zoning due diligence and prepares land use and zoning opinions and analyses.
For nearly 15 years, Ms. Batties has successfully represented homebuilders, retailers and institutional users, including one of the nation's longest-serving and most successful charter school service and support organizations. For several years, she was the attorney for multiple property owners and developers within a mixed-use, planned community totaling approximately 1800 acres. During that time, Ms. Batties handled several key negotiations with the city on behalf of property owners. She successfully proposed certain amendments to a zoning overlay ordinance, resulting in vested rights determinations for the development of a 280-acre industrial park within the community; and she took the lead on drafting ordinances that provided for an extension of time for development approvals and allowed for certain real property tax exemptions in response to the downturn in the real estate market. She has been involved in obtaining approvals for several planned unit developments in Washington, D.C., including the new Marriott Convention Center Hotel. Her current projects include the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Reuse Plan; a mixed-use development in the West End neighborhood that includes a new public library, 174 luxury residential units and ground floor retail space; a new mixed-use project with a 64,000-square-foot grocery store and approximately 220,000 square feet of residential near the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metrorail Station; and approvals for the construction of two new residence halls for Howard University.
Prior to practicing law, Ms. Batties served as a consultant on projects for the Florida Department of Transportation. Her responsibilities included coordinating community outreach strategies for various projects, including the East-West Multimodal Corridor, one of Miami-Dade County's largest transportation initiatives. She also served as an aide to the chair of the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners. In this position, she drafted and coordinated the approval of an interlocal development agreement between Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami for the creation and funding of a redevelopment authority for one of the County's most economically depressed areas. She was also involved in the planning of beautification projects for the 1994 Miami Summit of the Americas.
Ms. Batties is active in the Washington, D.C., Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., an organization aimed at developing and nurturing children through learning programs, community service, legislative advocacy and philanthropic giving. From 2006-2008, Ms. Batties served as an officer on the Board of Trustees for Aidan Montessori School. She has also been recognized for her pro bono work on behalf of Aspira of Florida, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the social advancement of the Puerto Rican/Latino community by empowering its youth in pursuit of educational excellence through leadership development programs that emphasize commitment to the community.