Hyatt, Aaron M.

Aaron Hyatt is chair of the Real Estate Department of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where he is proud to be a leader of the firm’s premier real estate transaction practice. His practice focuses on the acquisition, financing, leasing, development and disposition of various real estate assets, including apartment and office buildings, hotels, shopping centers, casinos and mixed-use projects. Aaron’s broad spectrum of experience with complex and high-profile real estate transactions makes him an invaluable asset to his clients and an integral part of their business, and he regularly serves as outside general counsel to clients with large and diverse real estate portfolios.

For development clients, Aaron navigates all components of sophisticated development projects, including due diligence, entitlements, real estate structuring (including ground lease, condominium, planned community, and other complex structures), acquisition and construction financing, joint venture partnerships, design and construction contracting, leasing, and other pre-development and development services. Aaron’s development work in Denver is especially notable, where he has served as lead counsel on some of the city’s most exciting new development projects, including the Steele Creek and Saint Paul Collection multifamily projects and the Halcyon and the Moxy hotel projects in Cherry Creek North. Aaron has also served as lead real estate counsel on other high-profile private and public/private projects in Denver, including the development and financing of the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center and History Center Colorado.

For institutional clients and other real estate owners, Aaron provides added value services. He has a respected leasing practice and represents owners of some of the largest Class A office projects in Denver, including Dairy Block, 1601 Wewatta, 1144 15th St., and Wells Fargo Center. Aaron also represents tenants in connection with large, complex lease transactions, including corporate and regional headquarters leases, build-to-suit leasing, and ground leasing. Aaron and the firm’s Real Estate Department also assist clients with all other aspects of owning and managing high-value real estate assets, including asset, property management, brokerage, construction, development, and other service agreements.

A Denver native, Aaron is active in the community, where he has served on numerous nonprofit boards and commissions, and where he continues to volunteer and give back. Aaron is proud to have served as the co-chair of the 2016 Executive Luncheon for Jewish Family Service, which raised almost $1 million dollars for one of the firm’s pro bono clients.

Aaron started his career at the firm in 2000, and he has served in various leadership roles, including co-chair of the Summer Associate program, real estate counsel to the firm and his current role as chair of the Real Estate Department.

Practices & Industries

Practices

Representative Matters

  • Counsel to Etkin Johnson Real Estate Partners in the sale of its “Colorado Industrial Portfolio,” a 19-property portfolio (2M SF) of industrial properties located throughout the metro Denver area. This sale was negotiated and closed on a short timeline, and the property sold for $247.5M, the largest industrial sale in Colorado history.

  • Counsel to seller, a joint venture between Hines, Perlmutter and JPMorgan, in the sale of 1601 Wewatta, a recently constructed office building near Union Station. The property sold for over $740 per sq. ft. (approximately $225M), the highest per-square-foot price for office in Colorado history. Impressively, the transaction was negotiated and closed in under 30 days.

  • Represented Waterton, a Chicago-based real estate investor and property management company, in the acquisition of The Ridge at Thornton Station, a 280-unit apartment complex in Thornton, CO, from Louisville-based Real Capital Solutions. The property is at a prime location adjacent to Thornton Station on RTD’s North Metro Line, slated to open in 2020.

  • Represented Rose Community Foundation in the purchase of the Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center (JCC Denver) campus and leaseback of the campus to JCC Denver for a term of 100 years at $1 per year.

  • The firm is representing ZBlock Holdings LLC in negotiating the financing, the joint venture and the condominium and construction documents, as well as numerous management and property-related agreements, in the redevelopment of an entire city block in lower downtown Denver known as Dairy Block. The project includes Dairy Block, a 6 story, mixed use project with 260,000 square feet of office space, ground floor retail and 170 hotel rooms. The deal required two separate financing/lending deals.

  • Represented CoBank, FCB, as tenant, under a build-to-suit lease in connection with the construction, financing and leasing of a new 270,000 square foot office building for CoBank's new headquarters.

  • Assisted Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas as Nevada corporate, real estate and gaming counsel in connection with a credit facility, including term loans and revolving loans, with Affinity Gaming, LLC (formerly Herbst Gaming, LLC), as borrower.

  • Represented Public Service Company of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company, in connection with the design, construction and leasing of a new 400,000 square foot office building for its new regional headquarters. Designed with a LEED-CS Platinum-certified shell, it is the first LEED Platinum high-rise office building in the country.

  • Served as special counsel in connection with the delivery of a total of $338 million Certificates of Participation (Ralph L. Carr Justice Complex and Colorado History Center Projects) evidencing proportionate interests in base rentals and other revenues under an annually renewable master build-to-suit lease purchase agreement between CHS/CJS Building, Inc. as lessor and the State of Colorado as lessee.

  • Represented a publicly-traded, Denver-based real estate investment trust in the negotiation, sale and closing of more than $433 million in sales involving 33 apartment complexes located across the United States.

  • Served as securities and real estate counsel to Elevation Integrated Hardware Block, LLC in connection with the loan, joint venture structuring and private placement to finance the acquisition of Hardware Block Condominiums at 1515 Wazee Street in Denver.

  • Represented the Seller/Tenant in a $176 million sale leaseback transaction involving 15 sites in four states. Coordinated and handled due diligence on all properties. Negotiated related lease agreements, guaranty documents, transfer documents and related collateral agreements.

News & Events
Community

Board, Executive Committee Member and Finance Committee Chair, Mental Health Colorado

Board, Development Committee Member, Jewish Family Service of Colorado

Commission Member, Denver County Court Judicial Discipline Commission

Member, Co-Founder, University of Colorado Law Review Alumni Board

Publications & Presentations
Education
  • J.D., 2001, University of Colorado Law School
  • B.A., 1997, Middlebury College, College Scholar
Admissions
  • Colorado
Recognition

Best Lawyers in America, 2017-2020

5280 Top Lawyers, Real Estate, 2017-2019

Yana Vishnitsky Leadership Award, Jewish Family Service, 2019

40 Under 40 Honoree, Denver Business Journal, 2015

Colorado Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, 2009, 2011-2015

Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, 2014 Leadership Denver

Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, 2009 Impact Denver

2008 Downtown Denver Leadership Program

Managing Editor, University of Colorado Law Review

Membership

American Bar Association

Colorado Bar Association

Denver Bar Association

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