Kyla O'Brien Baker
Partner
Overview
Kyla O'Brien Baker is a real estate attorney in Holland & Knight's Atlanta and Orlando offices. Ms. Baker partners with clients to help them grow, manage and optimize their commercial real estate portfolios. Known for her practical, solutions‑oriented approach, Ms. Baker works closely with real estate investors, real estate investment trusts (REITs), developers, automotive business owners and property managers to navigate complex transactions with clarity and confidence. She focuses on understanding each client's operational goals so she can deliver strategic, business‑minded guidance that moves deals forward efficiently and effectively.
Ms. Baker represents purchasers, sellers, landlords and tenants in the leasing, acquisition, disposition, development and management of commercial real estate nationwide. Her experience spans shopping centers, outparcels, retail and restaurant sites, office buildings, industrial and warehouse facilities, agricultural land and automotive dealership properties. She regularly negotiates purchase and sale agreements, leases, development and easement agreements, restrictive covenants, subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreements (SNDAs) and a wide range of closing and due diligence documents. She also advises clients on title, survey, environmental and site development issues.
In addition to handling single‑site transactions, Ms. Baker is frequently engaged to lead multi‑office teams on large, multistate portfolio deals. Her ability to manage complex deal structures while maintaining a streamlined, highly responsive workflow provides clients with consistency and efficiency across their portfolios. For smaller or fast‑moving transactions, she tailors her approach to help ensure each deal receives appropriately scaled support.
Ms. Baker's deep involvement in commercial real estate organizations, including Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), the International Council of Shopping Centers and various industry committees, keeps her connected to national trends and local market developments. This engagement informs her advice and allows her to anticipate issues that may impact her clients' operations and long‑term business strategies.
Representative Experience
- Served as landlord's counsel for leasing and general management of office buildings
- Served as tenant's counsel for leasing of industrial and retail space for a national convenience store delivery business
- Reviewed the leases and prepared abstracts in the $78 million acquisition of an industrial office complex in Southern California; the 44.8-acre property contains 23 buildings with almost 50 tenants
- Represented an international travel retailer in a comprehensive review of all leases, i.e., retail, warehouse and airport
- Represented a museum in a lease negotiation against a city for development of former brownfield land leased from the city
- Served as landlord's counsel for a ground lease of a 30-acre property involving higher education institutions
- Served as landlord's counsel for leasing of industrial space in connection with development of Class I railroad connections
- Served as landlord's counsel and tenant's counsel for leasing of agricultural land for one of the largest producers of sugar cane, citrus and other agricultural crops in the U.S.
- Served as tenant's counsel for leasing of office space
- Served as tenant's counsel for the tenant's acceptance of assignment of more than 120 sites of a quick-service restaurant
- Served as developer's counsel for the development of approximately 40 acres for commercial and retail use, including the formation of a commercial property owners association and related declaration of covenants, conditions, easements and restrictions, as well as other associated restrictions, and served as landlord's counsel for leasing of such land and inline space for retail purposes
- Served as landlord's counsel in the drafting and negotiation of in-line space leases to retail tenants for multiple shopping centers, retail centers and malls, during the general operation of such developments, as well as during receivership
- Served as purchaser's counsel in the acquisition of an ATM drive-thru outparcel that the client could develop for additional parking use
- Served as seller's counsel for subdivision of a portion of a shopping center's parking lot for use as a storage business
- Served as purchaser's counsel in the acquisition of vacant land for development into a storefront in new planned unit developments; negotiated several development agreements and restrictive covenants
- Served as tenant's counsel in the leasing of land being outfitted for new restaurant locations; negotiated leases, subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreements; reciprocal easement agreements; declarations of restrictions, covenants and easements; development agreements and amendments to lease, easements and other lease documents
- Served as purchaser's and tenant's counsel for an American retail and healthcare company in the acquisition, leasing and development of land with the intention of redeveloping it for a storefront; negotiated subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreements, reciprocal easement agreements, declarations of restrictions, covenants and easements, development agreements and amendments to lease, easements and other lease documents
- Served as purchaser's and tenant's counsel in the acquisition, leasing and development of land being developed by a client for new bank branches; negotiated purchase agreements, subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreements, reciprocal easement agreements, declarations of restrictions, covenants and easements, development agreements and amendments to lease, easements and other lease documents; addressed specific requirements in developing a bank branch for an affordable housing project subject to several layers of financing
- Served as seller's counsel in connection with the sale of Midwestern Auto Group to the Jeff Wyler Automotive Family
- Served as seller's real estate counsel in connection with the disposition of $420 million of real estate and leasehold improvements from Jim Koons Automotive Companies to Asbury Automotive Group
- Served as purchaser's real estate counsel for numerous national acquisitions of land for agricultural equipment and automobile dealerships
- Served as purchaser's real estate counsel for acquisition of several sites for heavy trucking use
- Served as purchaser's real estate counsel for numerous acquisitions of land for agricultural equipment in connection with Florida footprint expansion
- Served as real estate counsel during the acquisition and disposition of numerous automobile dealerships
- Served as tenant's real estate counsel for the leasing of commercial properties for agricultural equipment and automobile dealerships
- Served as purchaser's/tenant's real estate counsel for sale-leaseback transactions in connection with acquisition of automotive dealerships
- Served as purchaser's and borrower's real estate counsel in an asset purchase transaction of the world's largest producer of Vidalia onions, including acquisition of approximately 5,500 acres of agricultural land and related facilities for processing crops, labor housing and storage facilities
- Served as purchaser's counsel for several acquisitions of land for an industrial chemical distribution company
- Served as purchaser's counsel for the acquisition of land for industrial use for a utility provider
- Served as real estate counsel for general operations for an international hotel operator
- Served as real estate counsel for an international communications and technology company and defense contractor
- Served as purchaser's counsel for numerous acquisitions of commercial land for real estate investors
- Served as seller's counsel for numerous dispositions of commercial land and office buildings
- Served as real estate counsel for New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transactions
Credentials
- University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
- University of Florida, B.S., Telecommunications, summa cum laude
- Florida
- Georgia
- Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), Outreach Committee, 2014-2015; Future Leaders Committee, 2017-2019; Membership Committee, 2021-Present; Membership Committee, Co-Chair, 2021-2023; Leadership Class of 2024; Communications Committee, Co-Chair, 2025-Present
- Orlando Day Nursery, Board of Directors, 2014-2019, Secretary, 2017-2019
- Junior League of Greater Orlando, Mentoring Adolescent Girls to Inspire Change (MAGIC), 2017-2019; Community Action Team, 2015-2017
- International Council of Shopping Centers
- Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, Guardian Ad Litem
- Florida Law Review
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Real Estate Law, 2025, 2026
- CRE's Aspiring Leaders, GlobeSt., 2025
- The Best Lawyers in America, Orlando Real Estate Law Ones to Watch, 2021-2024
- Influencer in Retail Real Estate - Holland & Knight's Retail Development and Leasing Team, GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, 2023
- Holland & Knight Rising Star, Class of 2023
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2020
- Rising Star, Florida Super Lawyers magazine, 2020, 2023
- Order of the Coif, University of Florida
- Dean's List, University of Florida, Fall 2010-Spring 2013
- University of Florida Book Awards, Legal Drafting, Secured Transactions, Corporations, Corporate Scandals, Income Tax, Estates and Trusts