With nearly three decades at the forefront of commercial real estate, Walter D. Miller turns visionary developments into landmark realities –structuring the deals behind his clients’ most ambitious real estate projects. 

EXPERIENCE

Walt represents owners, developers, real estate investment trusts, private equity and opportunity funds, investors, corporate users, private lenders, and public and private companies in a variety of commercial real estate transactions. He routinely structures, negotiates, and closes acquisitions and dispositions, developments, joint ventures, fund formations and investment platforms, interest purchases, sales and exchanges, preferred equity and mezzanine structures, leases, sale-leasebacks, workouts and restructurings. Those transactions span various property types, such as multifamily, retail, hospitality, industrial, office, digital infrastructure and data centers, airports, distribution facilities, residential subdivisions, as well as multi-state portfolios and mixed-use, high-density urban redevelopments of those assets.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

For nearly 30 years, Walt has served a prominent role in a broad range of transactions including:

• Disposition of a multifamily portfolio containing 49 communities across 10 states in a going private transaction, representing an NYSE-listed REIT, as the seller.
• Mixed-use, high-density redevelopment of retail, residential, hotel, entertainment, and office uses located on a remediated Brownfield site adjacent to downtown Dallas, Texas, representing a private real estate development company.
• Acquisition of a multistate portfolio containing 34 industrial properties, representing an institutional retirement plan provider and investment manager.
• Recapitalization and disposition of a national portfolio of multifamily communities, including restructuring the positions of the two primary capital partners, negotiating additional financing, disposition of several projects, and transfer and sale of REIT shares, representing a publicly traded REIT.
• Development of a mixed-use commercial condominium tower with multifamily and supermarket uses anchoring the Park Crest redevelopment district located near Washington, DC, representing a publicly traded REIT.
• Acquisition of office and outdoor retail associated with the Galleria located in Dallas, Texas, representing a real estate investment management firm.
• Acquisition and development of multifamily towers with ancillary commercial uses located in Beverly Hills, California, representing a publicly traded REIT.
• Joint ventures to acquire multifamily projects while under construction but nearing completion, including negotiating and documenting the acquisition, construction management, closeout and transition related to completion of the improvements, lease up, property management, financing, permitting and other unique considerations, representing a publicly traded REIT.
• Formation of a real estate private equity fund, including structuring the investment platform and implementation of the acquisition strategy throughout the Southwest, representing the sponsor and, in turn, the fund.
• Acquisition, redevelopment and repositioning of a lakeside golf and resort community with multifamily, retail, restaurant, hotel, and marina uses located in Texas, representing a real estate opportunity fund.
• Acquisition of an existing mortgage loan and subsequent deed-in-lieu transfer of a multifamily property located in Miami, representing a real estate opportunity fund.
• Private-public partnership to develop a regional distribution facility near Houston, Texas, including an economic inducement package with tax abatements, Freeport exemptions, creation of a municipal utility district, interim utility services, and a full-range of offsite infrastructure, representing a Fortune 10 company.
• Multi-parcel redevelopment of a corporate facility located in Texas, representing a Fortune 50 defense contractor.
• Acquisition and development of Microsoft’s East Coast headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, representing a pension system.
• Acquisition and development of Ericsson’s U.S. Headquarters in Plano, Texas, representing the corporate user.
• Joint venture, ground lease, sublease, and development of a 640,000 square-foot distribution facility for use by Amazon, representing a pension system.

NETWORKS & AFFILIATIONS

As a member of the Planning Committee for the Mortgage Lending Institute, sponsored by The University of Texas School of Law, and the Planning Committee for the Advanced Real Estate Law Course, sponsored by The State Bar of Texas, Walt is a frequent author and speaker on real estate topics. He has served as the Chair, Pension Plan Investments, and as Vice-Chair, Real Estate Investment Funds, of the American Bar Association. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas and of the Priority Grant Needs Panel of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.