John Busey Wood advises public and private companies on real estate acquisitions, facilities management, construction and development, commercial, hospitality, retail, and ground leasing, commercial property management, and brokerage. For more than 45 years, John has represented owners in the design and negotiation of commercial leases exceeding 100 million square feet of retail, office, and mixed-use space projects. He has national experience in developable land, improved property acquisitions and ground leasing, large scale retail and office developments, commercial lease fair market determinations, arbitrations and expert witness services, and national commercial leasing and management programs.
John directed the legal team in a national portfolio acquisition program with a value in excess of $2 billion and participated in the development, leasing, and financing of over 4 million square feet of regional shopping malls and retail centers nationwide. Previously, he negotiated the largest ground/space lease transaction in the history of New York City, containing more than 1.6 million square feet and including "fast-track" rehabilitation, construction lending, permanent financing, and options for fee acquisition. In addition, John has advised, directed teams, and designed correlated construction contracts for "fast-track" design-build projects, conversions, and renovations in New York City, exceeding 8 million square feet, with values greater than $4 billion.
John also regularly advises cross-border retailers in their U.S.-based entry and business formation and leasing. John has represented cross-border retailers in the roll-out of over 230 stores in the U.S. market in the last several years and in the negotiation of commercial leases and construction "fit-out" contracts.
John is currently a member of the Board of Legal Advisors to the Practising Law Institute (PLI), and previously served on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives (NY Chapter), and the Board of Legal Advisors of New York Building Congress. John frequently lectures at major real estate brokerage firms in New York City, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate, and PLI, where he is the Chairman of the National Commercial Leasing Seminars. John is also a member of the American Arbitration Association Complex Commercial Neutral Panel.