Josh S. Winefksy
Partner
Kramer Levin
Kramer Levin
Josh S. Winefsky advises clients in sophisticated real estate transactions both in New York City and nationwide. Equally adept working on traditional commercial real estate transactions and on condominium developments and offering plans, Josh brings a unique, multidisciplinary perspective to his work. He provides counsel that is both innovative and business focused, and his calm, even-keeled temperament and efficient style facilitate issue solving throughout even the most complex deals.
Josh handles commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions and sales, leasing and development, joint ventures and other equity investments, and debt financing for both borrowers and lenders involving a variety of asset classes such as office, gaming, hospitality, multifamily, retail, mixed-use and industrial. He has also handled numerous commercial transactions relating to condominium assets, including bulk sales, transfers and leases of commercial units, financings secured by condominium assets, and the structuring of tax-exempt leasehold ownership condominiums (TELOC) for not-for-profit entities.
Josh represented VICI Properties Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust, in multiple aspects of its $789 million acquisition of the Harrah’s New Orleans hotel and casino. This highly complex transaction involved negotiating a purchase and sale agreement, through which VICI acquired the property, and provisions of a master lease, leasing the casino back to the seller to operate it. Josh has also advised VICI throughout a tri-party negotiation of an amended and restated ground lease between the city of New Orleans, VICI and the seller, which permits the assignment of the leasehold interest in the property to VICI and the simultaneous leaseback to the seller. This particularly challenging negotiation involved modifying numerous provisions of the ground lease to protect VICI’s REIT status.
In another recent transaction, Josh brought his multidisciplinary perspective to his representation of CIM Group in its acquisition of the residential and garage condominium units at a property located on the Upper East Side. In this unusual deal, the property first had to be converted to a condominium. As condominium counsel, Josh negotiated the condominium’s governing documents with the seller (which retained the retail unit in the building) and represented CIM in the acquisition and financing transactions.
Josh also represents developers of high-profile, complex mixed-use condominium and cooperative projects. In this role, he implements creative governance structures tailor-made to address the nuances of a specific project. He guides clients through the various phases of condominium and cooperative formation, and through the sales process, including the preparation and filing of offering plans and applications for no-action letters with the New York State Department of Law. Josh’s current condominium projects include three of the highest-profile developments in New York City — the conversion of the world-famous Waldorf Astoria hotel into a mixed-use condominium, Extell’s Central Park Tower and CIM Group’s 432 Park.
Josh was named a 2021 Law360 Rising Star in real estate and a National Law Journal Trailblazer for real estate and construction law. In 2019 and 2020, he was named a Crain’s New York Real Estate Rising Star. He was named a New York Super Lawyers Rising Star in real estate from 2015 through 2019.
Josh handles commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions and sales, leasing and development, joint ventures and other equity investments, and debt financing for both borrowers and lenders involving a variety of asset classes such as office, gaming, hospitality, multifamily, retail, mixed-use and industrial. He has also handled numerous commercial transactions relating to condominium assets, including bulk sales, transfers and leases of commercial units, financings secured by condominium assets, and the structuring of tax-exempt leasehold ownership condominiums (TELOC) for not-for-profit entities.
Josh represented VICI Properties Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust, in multiple aspects of its $789 million acquisition of the Harrah’s New Orleans hotel and casino. This highly complex transaction involved negotiating a purchase and sale agreement, through which VICI acquired the property, and provisions of a master lease, leasing the casino back to the seller to operate it. Josh has also advised VICI throughout a tri-party negotiation of an amended and restated ground lease between the city of New Orleans, VICI and the seller, which permits the assignment of the leasehold interest in the property to VICI and the simultaneous leaseback to the seller. This particularly challenging negotiation involved modifying numerous provisions of the ground lease to protect VICI’s REIT status.
In another recent transaction, Josh brought his multidisciplinary perspective to his representation of CIM Group in its acquisition of the residential and garage condominium units at a property located on the Upper East Side. In this unusual deal, the property first had to be converted to a condominium. As condominium counsel, Josh negotiated the condominium’s governing documents with the seller (which retained the retail unit in the building) and represented CIM in the acquisition and financing transactions.
Josh also represents developers of high-profile, complex mixed-use condominium and cooperative projects. In this role, he implements creative governance structures tailor-made to address the nuances of a specific project. He guides clients through the various phases of condominium and cooperative formation, and through the sales process, including the preparation and filing of offering plans and applications for no-action letters with the New York State Department of Law. Josh’s current condominium projects include three of the highest-profile developments in New York City — the conversion of the world-famous Waldorf Astoria hotel into a mixed-use condominium, Extell’s Central Park Tower and CIM Group’s 432 Park.
Josh was named a 2021 Law360 Rising Star in real estate and a National Law Journal Trailblazer for real estate and construction law. In 2019 and 2020, he was named a Crain’s New York Real Estate Rising Star. He was named a New York Super Lawyers Rising Star in real estate from 2015 through 2019.