Tax-Advantaged Project Finance Team: Florida Experience
Who We Are
Holland & Knight's Tax-Advantaged Project Finance Team has provided innovative solutions in public finance since 1974. We assist clients with tax-advantaged projects across various sectors, including economic development, energy, transportation, utilities, education, housing, healthcare and public-private partnerships. Our team has served as counsel in more than $27 billion in taxable and tax-exempt debt in Florida over the past five years. We provide comprehensive tax analysis and guidance on yield, arbitrage, investments and spend-down requirements, as well as insights on changes to tax regulations. Our value-added services include providing clients regular updates on IRS tax positions and legislative developments and training on post-issuance compliance obligations, including those relating to arbitrage rebate requirements, private use and continuing disclosure/material event requirement filings
Partner Michael Wiener and Senior Counsel Denise Ganz have over 60 years of combined experience in taxadvantaged project finance. They are supported by experienced lawyers in Florida and other offices across the U.S. Overall, Holland & Knight has approximately 2,200 attorneys and other professionals providing representation in more than 250 practice areas from 34 offices worldwide.
Our Litigation and Appellate teams are ready to handle bond validations and related appeals. We also collaborate with Holland & Knight's Public-Private Partnership (P3) Team to support clients in structuring and implementing P3 projects. Leveraging our extensive and diverse experience, we provide comprehensive support to clients across all aspects of P3 projects, spanning procurement laws, real estate, public finance, environmental regulations and taxation. Our public policy colleagues, including in our Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., offices, keep us updated on state and federal legislation and regulations, helping ensure our clients are informed through alerts, webinars, emails and conference calls.
We deeply value our clients and continuously seek opportunities to enhance the quality of our work in every matter we undertake. This commitment has earned us the long-term trust of our tax-advantaged project finance clients, many of whom have relied on our extensive public finance knowledge and experience for decades.
What We Do: Highlights of Our Florida Experience
Economic Development and Tourism
• Bond counsel for Sarasota County's tax-exempt bonds for Mote Marine Laboratory Inc.'s aquarium
• Counsel for issuers and lenders financing spring training facilities and college sports stadiums
• Bond counsel for Palm Beach County's industrial revenue bonds for the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and Lakeland's tax-exempt bonds for a performing arts center
• Bond and disclosure counsel for numerous community development and special districts
• Counsel for underwriters, financial institutions and developers in transactions using tax-exempt and taxable bonds for public infrastructure
Education/Senior Living/Not-for-Profit Lending
• Bond, borrower's or disclosure counsel for institutions of higher education using tax-exempt and taxable bonds to finance and refinance capital projects, including Nova Southeastern University, the University of Tampa, Florida Southern College, St. Leo University and Ringling College
• Bond, borrower's or underwriter's counsel using tax-exempt and taxable financings for charter schools and independent private schools, including Miami Country Day, Saint Andrew's School, Victory Ridge Academy, Lake Wales Charter School System, Out of Door Academy and Imagine School at Broward
• Bond, borrower's or underwriter's counsel using tax-exempt and taxable financings for senior living facilities, including Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, Plymouth Harbor, The Glenridge on Palmer Ranch and The Estates at Carpenters
• Bond, borrower's or lender's counsel for various YMCAs, including YMCA of Central Florida and YMCA of South Florida
Innovative Financing Techniques
• Created and served as bond counsel for water cooperatives such as the Polk Regional Water Cooperative and Water Cooperative of Central Florida
• Closed numerous financings under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan program
• Created and served as bond counsel for Florida Gas Utility, saving member governments millions in fuel purchases
• Represented Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA) in a $91 million refunding transaction using a reverse auction system
• Represented various issuers in forward delivery bond purchase agreements to facilitate advance refunding bonds
P3s
• Represented HCAA in the complex financing and structuring of an office complex on HCAA lands; developers, selected through an extensive RFP process, constructed, financed, owned and operated the complex; after the building was fully operational and leased, HCAA converted it to a publicly owned structure
• Served as bond counsel for private activity bond financings by airline tenants and concessionaires at Tampa International Airport
• Acted as project counsel for the entity selected by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to complete the I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project; this involved the $2.3 billion reconstruction of 21 miles of Interstate 4 in Orange and Seminole counties, as well as adding two dynamic toll lanes in each direction
• Served as outside general counsel for the entity selected by FDOT to complete the $1.5 billion reconstruction of a 10.5-mile stretch of the Interstate 595 corridor in Broward County
• Advised the City of Pompano Beach and the Pompano Beach Community Redevelopment Agency on state and federal tax law matters relating to the financing aspects of its new master downtown redevelopment P3 project
Representative Clients
Contact Us
Michael Wiener
Partner | Tampa
+1.863.499.5362
michael.wiener@hklaw.com
Peter Baumgaertner
Partner | New York
+1.212.513.3360
peter.baumgaertner@hklaw.com
Richard Stephens
Partner | Tampa
+1.863.499.5351 rick.stephens@hklaw.com
Vlad Popik
Associate | Miami
+1.305.789.7687
vladimir.popik@hklaw.com
Denise Ganz
Senior Counsel | West Palm Beach
+1.561.650.8340
denise.ganz@hklaw.com
Edward Rojas
Partner | New York
+1.212.513.3447
edward.rojas@hklaw.com
Woody Vaughan
Partner | Atlanta
+1.404.817.8574
woody.vaughan@hklaw.com
Brandi Wilson
Attorney | Tampa
+1.863.499.5363
brandi.wilson@hklaw.com