Doing Business in Florida Blog

The Florida Legislature Passes a Comprehensive Commercial Real Estate Property Receivership Act

March 23, 2020
Anthony J. Carriuolo  |  Commercial Real Estate, Bankruptcy

Commercial real estate is, of course, big business in Florida. And many constituents are financially dependent on it. Business owners and operators generate revenues while lenders advance monies to acquire those properties and provide working capital for operations.

Florida State Sales Tax Rate on Commercial Real Property Leases Reduced

November 26, 2017
Barry D. Lapides  |  Commercial Real Estate, home owners associations, Real Estate, Real Estate Litigation

Florida State Sales Tax Rate on Commercial Real Property Leases Reduced Beginning January, 2018 As anyone who is involved in leasing commercial real property in Florida is aware, the State of Florida imposes a sales tax on rental payments for the lease of real property. The tax is imposed not only on the base rent, but also on any additional rent, or any

Why Amazon’s Foray Into the Retail Grocery Space Should Concern Shopping Center Owners and Their Lenders Too

August 28, 2017
Anthony J. Carriuolo  |  Amazon, Commercial Real Estate, commercial real estate, Real Estate, Real Estate, retail, Whole Foods

Just when you thought Amazon couldn’t get bigger, or couldn’t infiltrate your daily life any deeper, it has. Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods is both exciting and troubling.  Exciting, because Amazon already has undertaken significant cost-cutting measures that should reinvigorate interest in shopping at Whole Foods (which was ‘pricey’), and you can

"Frustration" in the Florida Appellate Court: A Commercial Landlord's Battle to Defeat a Tenant's Excuse for Non-Performance

February 19, 2017
Jeffrey S. Wertman  |  Appellate Litigation, Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Construction & Design, Construction Litigation, Litigation, Real Estate, Real Estate Development

A recent Florida appellate opinion is likely to have a material impact on how future commercial real estate leases are drafted. Florida landlords wishing to avoid tenants’ defenses for nonperformance based on the doctrines of frustration of purposes, impracticality, or impossibility of performance should now more carefully assess how particular future events can affect a tenant’s performance and assign that risk to tenants in a lease.

The Rise of Transit Oriented Development

February 16, 2017
Jeffrey R. Margolis  |  Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Construction & Design, Environmental, Hospitality & Leisure, Land Use & Zoning, Real Estate, Real Estate Development, Urban Redevelopment

Millennials have now overtaken baby boomers as America’s largest generation, and developers must cater to this segment’s desire for convenience, connectivity and access to the urban core. As density of downtowns grow, mixed use development will emerge in suburban neighborhoods that may be farther out from the city center, but still enjoy the proximity to