Krishana Pleasant brings two decades of experience in real estate finance. She is known for her work in agency finance, bridge-to-agency finance, and balance sheet finance matters. She advises clients in the origination and servicing of loans intended for purchase/securitization by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
She works extensively with clients involved in mixed-use, multifamily, seniors housing, condominium, retail, office, industrial, and hotel developments. Her clients include real estate investors, developers, lenders, and private business owners from a broad spectrum of industry sectors.
Experience
Representative Matters
- Acted as de facto general counsel to a nationally recognized, swiftly growing affordable housing advisory and asset management firm. Responsibilities included:
- Assessing laws and regulations affecting the business and working with business executives to develop appropriate responses
- Engaging and managing outside counsel
- Developing and overseeing implementation of standardized processes, procedures, and form documents
- Assisting in the structuring and closing of loans. Identifying and managing risks and conflicts of interest
- Counseling and providing legal advice on loan originations for all product types, including co-lending and participations
- Represented an industry-leading debt fund in the origination of a $20 million loan to finance the acquisition of a development site in the Bronx, the largest single transaction in the fund’s history. The acquisition facilitated construction of a 755-unit, mixed-use, affordable housing development over four phases to include 21,000 square feet of commercial space.
- Represented investor in an $80 million syndicated equity investment in a portfolio of multifamily affordable housing projects, which qualified for tax credits under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code.
- Counseled a major national bank in permitting a developer to collapse its historic tax credit master-lease structure following the completion of rehabilitation for two multi-property portfolios in Missouri. Assessed the impact of recent case law on the proposed deal structure.
- Coordinated the review and analysis of the subordinate debt structure in the representation of Wells Fargo in the closing of a $2.7 billion loan under the Fannie Mae DUS program for Blackstone and Ivanhoe Cambridge’s acquisition of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, the largest mixed-use apartment complex in New York City, comprised of more than 11,000 units.
- Facilitated a joint venture between a Pennsylvania-based real estate investment company and a private, multinational enterprise in its $309 million acquisition of a nine-property multifamily portfolio comprising 2,671 units in the Washington, D.C., area.
- Represented an institutional lender in the credit enhancement of a $157.5 million tax-exempt bond financing by HFA to finance the acquisition and rehabilitation of 1,654-unit multifamily residential housing project in the Bronx.
- Counseled an institutional lender in the closing of a $46.2 million loan to finance the construction of a select-service hotel with approximately 196 guestrooms in Manhattan for a major national brand.
- Represented an institutional lender in the direct debt financing of a $13.8 million construction loan for the acquisition and construction of a 157,000-square-foot distribution facility in Ohio for a worldwide fast food chain.
- Advised a California-based mortgage company in the origination of a $16.8 million FHA-insured mortgage loan to refinance a 130-bed assisted living facility in Pennsylvania through HUD’s Section 232 program.
- Advised an independent specialty finance company in the closing of a $6.7 million credit facility to refinance existing debt and support the growth of a leading national provider in the telecommunications industry. Managed all real estate related components of the transaction.
- Represented a commercial lender in the development of its mortgage loan conduit program for securitization; recommended and implemented new procedures; closed numerous loans in various states.
Professional Highlights
Professional Activities
ACMA Fellow
Board Memberships & Community Service
Board of Directors, New Destiny Housing Corporation (2012-2021)
Credentials
Education
Chicago Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology (J.D. 2004)
George Washington University (B.A. 1999)
Languages
Spanish
Admissions
New York
New Jersey