Sean D. Willet

Sean D. Willet is a real estate attorney in Holland & Knight's Newport Beach office. Mr. Willet provides asset management and leasing representation to institutional real estate funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other various ownership groups in connection with the ownership, operation, leasing and management of their retail, office and industrial real estate portfolios across the U.S. and in Canada.

Mr. Willet has provided representation in connection with retail shopping centers, mixed-use centers, office projects and distribution centers. He also provides leasing and development representation on behalf of national retailers, national distribution companies and various office tenants, including banks and financial service companies.

Mr. Willet is routinely involved with landlords in consultation, negotiation and advisement with respect to the full life cycle of a lease, including letters of intent, due diligence, the actual lease documents, construction contracts, amendments, assignments, subordinations, dispute resolution, terminations and lease workouts and buyouts. On the tenant side, Mr. Willet often negotiates in-line shopping center leases, outparcel leases, ground retail leases, office leases and industrial leases, and he guides tenants through letters of intent, due diligence (including title and survey review), lease negotiation and drafting to obtain easements for development, exercising options and terminating leases. Throughout his career, he has brought to execution leases involving tens of millions of square feet of space.

In addition to his leasing work, Mr. Willet also represents office building and shopping center owners in the disposition of their assets, including leasebacks for owner-occupied assets, taking his clients from the offer stage through closing.

Representative Experience

• Represent institutional real estate investments funds, as landlords, in an average of 50 to 100 new leases and amendments each year in connection with a portfolio of 10 retail and mixed-use centers in various major markets across the U.S.
• Represent institutional real estate investment funds, as owners, in connection with day-to-day asset management matters, including property management agreements, exclusive listing agreements, subordination agreements, estoppels, telecommunications agreements, license agreements, easement agreements, vendor agreements, storage agreements, default notices and construction contracts
• Represent various landlords of office parks throughout Texas in the leasing of their spaces to various office users
• Represent various landlords of malls and shopping centers in the leasing of their spaces to various retail and office users throughout the U.S., including to grocers, movie theaters, gyms, "big boxes," restaurants and other traditional retailers
• Represent various receivers in the leasing and management of office building parks and retail assets throughout the U.S.
• Represent a national tenant in the ground leasing and development of various restaurants throughout the southern portion of the U.S.
• Represent a national fitness brand in the leasing of fitness centers throughout the U.S.
• Represent a bank in the ground leasing and development of various retail bank locations in Texas
• Represented the landlord of an office/research and development (R&D) park in Orange County, California, in the leasing of the entire multi-building park (more than 600,000 square feet) to a military defense company
• Represented the landlord of an office building park in Coral Gables, Florida, in the leasing (as part of a broader sale and leaseback transaction) of the entirety of one of the buildings (more than 60,000 square feet) to a medical user
• Represented the landlord of a mixed-use retail center in Chicago in the negotiation of the surrender of a bankrupted retailer and its personal property, as well as the simultaneous negotiation of a new lease for its more than 100,000-square-foot retail space
• Represented the landlord of a shopping center in the leasing of nearly 15,000 square feet of retail space to a grocery store in Atlanta
• Represented the landlord of a shopping center in the leasing of nearly 20,000 square feet of retail space to a grocery store in Chicago
• Represented various landlords in connection with dozens of build-to-suit office projects with technology companies
• Represented a chemical manufacturer, as tenant and distributor, in the leasing of nearly 40,000 square feet in an industrial building in Canada
• Represented a thermal processor and manufacturer, as tenant, in the leasing of more than 50,000 square feet in an industrial park in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Represented a manufacturer and distributor, as tenant, in the leasing of nearly 250,000 square feet in an industrial park in Houston
• Represented a Fortune 500 company, as tenant, in the leasing of more than 100,000 square feet of office space in Dallas
• Represented a military defense company, as tenant, in the leasing of more than 20,000 square feet of industrial space for manufacturing in San Luis Obispo, California