Karen has a general commercial real estate practice with a concentration in representing for-profit and non-profit organizations, financial institutions and quasi-public agencies in HUD and Fannie Mae-financed developments, federal and state low income housing tax credit, historic tax credit and tax-exempt bond financed projects, New Markets Tax Credit developments and "Comprehensive Permit" projects under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40B. She also has extensive experience structuring complex, multi-tiered and multi-phased projects using creative land use tools such as condominiums, air-rights and ground leases.
Karen also serves on the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.
Representative Client Work
- Represented the owner in a $160 million refinancing of a 500-unit, twenty-five story building, mixed-use affordable residential and commercial property in Boston, Massachusetts
- Represented the owner in multiple financings in the aggregate of over $50 million for a multi-phase ground-up development in Pontoon Beach, Illinois
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Represented the owner all aspects of the development and financing of a 140 unit mixed-income apartment building in Quincy, Massachusetts. Tasks included structuring work-force housing units, federal and state low income housing tax credits, and a joint venture agreement with a non-profit partner
- Represented the lender in a $37 million private placement tax-exempt bond construction to permanent financing facility and an $8 million bridge loan facility for the acquisition, rehabilitation and expansion of 199 affordable rental housing units on property ground leased from the Boston Housing Authority in Boston, Massachusetts
- Represented the owner in a $19 million redevelopment and refinancing of a 150-unit apartment property in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
- Represented the owner in the redevelopment and $10 million refinancing of a 59-unit mixed income housing property in Revere, Massachusetts
- Represented the lender in a series of three loans that closed into a collateral pool subject to an existing SWAP: a $13.6 million facility secured by a multi-family property in Dartmouth, Massachusetts; an $11 million facility secured by an office property in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and a $16.6 million facility secured by an apartment and condominium development in Bridgewater, Massachusetts
- Represented the lender in a $10 million construction to permanent financing facility for the acquisition, rehabilitation and development of an affordable multifamily property in Gloucester, Massachusetts
- Represented the lender in making an $11 million construction to permanent loan facility for the acquisition, rehabilitation and development of a senior residential facility in a former school building property ground leased from the town of Swampscott, Massachusetts
- Represented the lender in making permanent financing available for two phases of a multi-phase, multi-family $40 million affordable housing development project in Hartford, Connecticut ground leased from the City of Hartford Housing Authority
- Represented the lender in an $18,000,000 term loan to refinance a 124-unit multi-family property located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Bar & Court Admissions
- Massachusetts
- U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
Education
- J.D., Boston University School of Law
- B.A., cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Community Engagement
- Boston Bar Association, Co-Chair Real Estate Section, 2020-2021
- American Bar Association, Forum on Affordable Housing, past Chair of Senior Housing Committee, 1997-present
- Lawyers' Clearinghouse on Affordable Housing and Homelessness, Board Member and Past President, Lead-Boston Class of 2005-2006
- Women's Bar Foundation of Massachusetts, Inc., Past President and Trustee, 2001-2005
- Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts, Past President, 1989-1990
- Town of Brookline, Housing Advisory Board, 2012-2018
Awards & Honors
- Best Lawyers in America® (2018-2021)
- The Legal 500 U.S. (2019)
- Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Top Women of Law (2016)
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2004, 2014-2015)
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Sullivan Press ReleaseMay 30, 2019
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Opportunity Zones AlertOctober 22, 2018
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Press ReleaseJune 26, 2018
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Client AdvisoryApril 18, 2018
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Client AdvisoryMarch 26, 2018
Seminars & Presentations
- Opportunity Zones: Where Are We After A Year?
Boston Bar Association (January 22, 2019) - Securing Massachusetts and Local Tax Incentives to Maximize Opportunity Zone Benefits for Developers and Investors
Sullivan & Worcester Conference Center, Boston, MA (November 29, 2018)