David E. Firestone

David Firestone represents owners, developers, and financial institutions in a range of sophisticated commercial real estate transactions.

David has significant experience representing owners and developers in connection with the acquisition and disposition of a variety of asset classes and interests as well as with complex real estate development projects, including economic development projects, ground leases, public/private initiatives and development and construction agreements. Both lenders and borrowers seek David’s representation in connection with financing transactions and David has experience in representing clients in connection with note sales, pledges and participation, and co-lender and intercreditor agreements. He also handles leasing transactions on behalf of both landlords and tenants.

David is a member of the Real Estate Committee of Luria Academy of Brooklyn and has acted as pro bono counsel to Luria in negotiating net leases for two buildings in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

Prior to joining Fried Frank, he was an associate at another major law firm in New York.
David previously served in the role of associate counsel at a family-owned real estate company headquartered in New York City.

Work highlights:

• Acquisitions, Dispositions and Developments
  • Counsel to WarnerMedia (f/k/a Time Warner), an operating company of AT&T Inc., in the sale-lease back of its approximately 1.5 million-square-foot Time Warner Condominium Unit at 30 Hudson Yards (a/k/a Tower A). WarnerMedia sold the unit to an affiliate of Related Companies for approximately $2.2 billion and leased-back the space for its global headquarters across 26 floors until 2034
  • Counsel to the Perelman Performing Arts Center in the negotiation of a long-term ground lease at the World Trade Center site for construction of a new cultural institution
  • Counsel to Cornell University in the development in all aspects of its 2.1 million-square-foot campus, which includes academic, residential, corporate co-location, hotel, and public open space uses on Roosevelt Island in New York City
  • Counsel to Maefield Development in its approximately $1.5 billion acquisition of the EDITION hotel, retail, and signage project known as 20 Times Square in New York City
  • Counsel to Tishman Speyer in connection with its acquisition and mixed-use redevelopment project at the original Macy's location in Downtown Brooklyn into The Wheeler, an office building, and 11 Hoyt, a residential tower
  • Counsel to a joint venture with Vornado Realty Trust in connection with a number of public-private initiatives with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to revitalize Penn Station, including a major new entrance to Penn Station located at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue, named the East End Gateway, the more than $400 million reconstruction of Penn Station's Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) corridor, connecting 7th and 8th Avenues and the adjoining subway lines, and the relocation of MTA's back-of-house lease within Vornado's 1 Penn Plaza
  • Counsel to an affiliate of RXR Realty in its approximately $144 million sale of a commercial condominium unit at 620 Avenue of the Americas to Building Service 32BJ Health Fund, the property service workers union
  • Counsel to American Bible Society in connection with the $300 million sale of its national headquarters building located at 1865 Broadway in Manhattan
  • Counsel to the Related Companies in connection with various agreements pertaining to the development, financing, and operations of the 12 million-square-foot mixed-use development at Hudson Yards in Midtown Manhattan, including infrastructure agreements with instrumentalities of The City of New York, public finance leases, and numerous property management agreements
• Financing
  • Counsel to Blackstone Real Estate Partners in its aggregate $540 million construction financing to Deerfield Management, a healthcare investment management firm, for its acquisition and redevelopment of 345 Park Avenue
  • Counsel to JPMorgan in its $170 million financing for the 468-unit rental building at 123 Melrose Street in Brooklyn, New York.
  • Counsel to MCR Development in its $650 million mortgage and mezzanine loan refinancing for a portfolio of 53 hotels located in 15 states.
  • Counsel to RXR Realty in its $404 million mortgage and mezzanine financing from Mesa West Capital secured by 32 Old Slip, a Class-A office building in downtown Manhattan
  • Counsel to the Olnick Organization in its $150 million refinancing of Headquarters Plaza, a hotel, office, and retail complex located in Morristown, New Jersey
  • Counsel to Brookfield Properties in connection with the development financing of 655 New York Avenue, a 768,000-square-foot trophy mixed-use project in the Convention Center neighborhood of Washington, DC.
  • Counsel to Gotham Organization in its approximately $18 million construction financing for the redevelopment of PS 51 as residential condominiums
  • Counsel to The Children's Investment Fund and Talos Capital Limited in connection with a mezzanine loan to the Ashkenazy Acquisitions Corp. relating to property located at 625 Madison Avenue in New York City.
  • Counsel to Cantor Commercial Real Estate in a US$580 million CMBS loan to refinance the Miracle Mile Shops in Las Vegas.
• Commercial Leasing
  • Counsel to Google in its approximately 135,000-square-foot lease at 1105 West Peachtree Street, an approximately US$400 million, 31-story office tower being developed by Selig Enterprises in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia
  • Counsel to Related Companies in its more than 1.5 million-square-foot lease to Facebook across 30 floors and three buildings at Hudson Yards