Alex Sellke

Counsel

Minneapolis

Tel 612.371.2440
Fax 612.371.3207

Alex Sellke is a Minneapolis real estate attorney who serves as a trusted adviser and counselor to clients across the full spectrum of the real estate industry. Drawing on a broad foundation in commercial real estate development and a strong track record of leading complex and transformative projects, he guides developers, investors, owners and operators, businesses, nonprofits, public housing authorities, and lenders through deals ranging from affordable and senior housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and tax credit finance, construction, and joint ventures to commercial leasing, purchase and sale transactions, and the real estate aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Alex has particular depth in affordable and senior housing development and HUD finance. He represents participants in low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) transactions, negotiating partnership and operating agreements with tax credit investors and guiding projects through layered financing that includes Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgage loans, tax-exempt bonds, housing finance agency loans, and soft and gap funding. His HUD work spans regulatory agreements, project-based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contracts, Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversions, and public housing redevelopment and disposition. He also represents owners, developers, operators, and investors across the senior living continuum, from active adult and independent living to assisted living and memory care, handling acquisitions, dispositions, and development of licensed communities (including licensure transfers and interim operating arrangements), management, development services, and home care services agreements, and resident agreements that comply with state assisted living and housing-with-services laws. Bridging these areas, he advises on LIHTC transactions for licensed assisted living and customized living communities, aligning tax credit requirements with state licensure, admission policies, Medicaid waiver participation, and services agreements.

Services

Representative Experience

Representative Matters

Represented nonprofit developer in the acquisition and adaptive reuse of a former downtown Minneapolis office building into a 59-unit permanent supportive housing community for adults with a history of homelessness
Represented nonprofit developer in the ground lease and adaptive reuse of a vacant downtown Minneapolis building into a 72-unit permanent supportive housing community for people experiencing homelessness, including 9 percent LIHTC syndication, layered soft financing from Minnesota Housing, Hennepin County, the City of Minneapolis, and the Metropolitan Council, state housing tax credits, and project-based Section 8 and housing authority rental assistance
Represented nonprofit sponsors, developers, and co-developers in LIHTC and HUD-financed affordable housing transactions, including the 9 percent tax credit syndication of two 40-unit North Dakota communities with project-based vouchers and supportive services; a 202-unit RAD conversion in Baltimore financed with LIHTC equity, tax-exempt bonds, and state and housing authority loans; and a family affordable housing development in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, financed with LIHTC equity, tax-exempt bonds, Maryland Community Development Administration (CDA) construction and term loans, and project-based Section 8 assistance

Represented senior living owners, developers, and master developers in acquisitions, dispositions, and development, including the acquisition of an assisted living and memory care community in suburban Minneapolis with assisted living licensure change of ownership and transition of resident agreements, and the sale of a Colorado assisted living community with licensure change-of-ownership and interim sublease arrangements
Prepared operating documents for senior housing communities in Minnesota, Florida, and Colorado, from age-targeted apartments to independent living, assisted living, and memory care, including management, marketing, home care, and development services agreements; resident agreements compliant with Minnesota’s assisted living licensure law; and resident eligibility and services policies aligning assisted living operations and Medicaid waiver participation with continued LIHTC eligibility
Advised housing authority on the master development agreement, ground leases, and housing authority/developer joint venture structure for the redevelopment of a former public housing site into an approximately 325-unit mixed-income, mixed-use community
Represented developer in structuring a joint venture with an institutional land-contributing partner for a mixed-use project including a luxury hotel, medical clinic, and residential condominiums
Lead counsel for major mixed-used development project in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis
Negotiated joint venture agreement on behalf of developer for equity financing of a new $480 million, 37-story tower in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with luxury condominiums, a five-star hotel, and first-class office space
Assisted developer with the development, construction, and build-to-suit lease for a new corporate headquarters on 40 acres in suburban Saint Paul, Minnesota
Represented manufacturing company in the real estate aspects of its acquisition of a corporate division's assets, including a manufacturing facility, and a concurrent sale-leaseback of the facility
Advised on the sale-leaseback of an approximately 325,000-square-foot industrial facility in South Dakota
Handled the real estate aspects of a $76.3 million asset sale of an environmental testing business, including owned laboratory facilities in Tennessee, Mississippi, and North Carolina, real property lease assignments, and landlord consents
Served as counsel to industrial property investors in the acquisition and financing of value-add, multi-site industrial portfolios in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Indiana
Led a new China-based manufacturer through the process of acquiring a greenfield site in North Carolina for a new manufacturing facility and negotiating related economic incentives
Assisted in the representation of renewable energy developers and investors, including the acquisition of a 100 MW solar project and title clearance for a 280 MW wind energy development
Represented institutional lender in the negotiation and closing of loans secured by office buildings, retail complexes, and industrial facilities

Professional Highlights

Pro Bono Experience

Represents nonprofit organization working to end homelessness and relieve hunger through action and advocacy in all real estate matters, including the development of a housing shelter to further its mission of addressing instances of homelessness, disposition of excess real estate, and acquisition of a new, combined headquarters and homeless outreach facility
Supported community development financial institution in connection with providing immigrant entrepreneurs financing to open new businesses
Worked with group of churches to successfully challenge unconstitutional road maintenance fees

Professional Activities

Board Member, Two Rivers Community Land Trust, serving Washington County, Minnesota

ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law

Urban Land Institute

Recognition & Accomplishments

The Best Lawyers in America, Litigation – Real Estate, Real Estate Law (Minneapolis), 2026, 2027; "Ones to Watch," Litigation – Real Estate, Real Estate Law (Minneapolis), 2023-2025

MSBA North Star Lawyer, 2018-2019, 2023

Speaking Engagements

"What Are Tactics for Redevelopment After Restore, Rebuild?", Ballard Spahr Housing Authority Summit, September 16, 2026

"Major Issues in Real Estate Development Joint Venture Agreements," Real Estate Institute, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, October 2022

"Residential and Commercial Real Estate Transactions: Parties, Terms and Process," The New Lawyer Experience, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, January 2018

Publications

Co-author, Chapter 1, "Introduction," and Chapter 3, "Purchase Agreements and Contingencies" (including Appendix A – Commercial Real Estate Purchase Agreement), Minnesota Real Estate Purchase and Sale Deskbook, 2nd Edition, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, 2024 Update

Related Insights

Credentials

Education

William Mitchell College of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2014)
Editor, William Mitchell Law Review

University of Minnesota (B.S. 2006)

Admissions

Minnesota