Andrew J. Schwartz

Overview

Andrew Schwartz assists commercial real estate investors, owners and developers – particularly in the multifamily arena – with buying, selling, financing, developing and leasing commercial real estate across the country. He has significant experience in purchasing and selling mid-sized to large apartment communities, as well as purchasing vacant land for the development of such communities and assisting in such development. Andrew also has completed transactions in the office, medical office, mixed-use and retail product types, among others.

As an authority on Colorado multifamily acquisitions and dispositions, from 2011 to 2013 Andrew served as lead counsel in what was then (and still may be) the largest sale of a multifamily portfolio in Colorado history. The project, which included 29 apartment communities and more than 8,500 residential units, involved multiple buyers, transactions, and the defeasance of public financing.  In 2019 and 2020, he acted as lead counsel for the sale of a 2,200+ bed student housing development in northern California, which is believed to be the largest transaction of its kind. Since 2005, Andrew has advised his clients on purchase and sale transactions of more than $7 billion across the country.

Andrew spent approximately ten years working in other areas of law before focusing on commercial real estate. During that time, he handled labor and employment matters and commercial litigation and served as general counsel to a technology company that he co-founded and helped take public.

I am a member and supporter of Kiwanis Club International (opens in a new tab) and ManKind Project USA (opens in a new tab).

Experience

Representative experience includes:

• Lead counsel on the largest multifamily portfolio sale in Colorado history, composed of 29 apartment communities and over 8,500 residential units, to multiple buyers, including transactions with loan assumptions and the defeasance of public financing
• Lead counsel on the purchase of multifamily community of approximately 3,000 units in a San Francisco suburb for a high 9-figure purchase price, which transaction included collective-bargaining issues, assumed financing and new financing
• Lead counsel on the sale of a mixed use property in Silicon Valley for a mid 9-figure sales price
• Lead counsel on the purchase of vacant land in a master planned community in Superior, Colorado, with “shovel-ready” entitlements and district reimbursement of infrastructure, and the development of such land into a mixed use project
• Lead counsel on the bulk purchase of a $65,000,000 partially-completed condominium project in northern Virginia; project involved assuring the timely completion of the project by seller, a major home builder
• Lead counsel on an $18,000,000 purchase of an interest in a partnership that owned a mixed use project in San Francisco, including work on interim financing and conversion of the partnership
• Lead counsel on the purchase of a $7,500,000 portfolio of veterinary facilities in Colorado, Texas and Arizona, including the ground leasing and financing of the project

Speaking & Publications

• Author, 2012 Colorado Legislative Session Real Estate Summary, Otten Johnson Alert (May 2012)
• Co-author, Legal Considerations When Buying Multifamily Properties, Colorado Real Estate Journal (May 4-17, 2011)
• Author, 2011 Mid-Session Colorado Legislative Update, Otten Johnson Alert (March 2011)
• Author, Colorado Passes Broker Lien Law (June 2010)
• Author, Effect of Tenant Bankruptcy on Leases (June 2009)
• Author, Know US Bankruptcy Code, Colorado Real Estate Journal (February 4-17, 2009)
• Author, Caution: Don’t Get Boxed In By Conflicting Casualty Clauses, Colorado Real Estate Journal (April 2-15, 2008)
• Author, Section 1983 Authorizes Municipal Liability For Failure to Train Employees in Limited Circumstances, 20 Seton Hall L. Rev. 886 (1990)

Awards & Involvement

• Best Lawyers in America: Real Estate Law (2026-2027)
• “AV” rating from Martindale Hubbell

Jurisdiction

• State of Colorado
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
• Colorado Bar Association

Education

• J.D., Seton Hall University School of Law (1991); Magna Cum Laude; Editor, Seton Hall Law Review
• B.A., Tufts University (1986); Cum Laude

Insights