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Ben Householder is a real estate attorney experienced in a broad range of complex matters, with a concentration on capitalization, including structuring, equity investments, and debt financing.

Ben represents and advises commercial real estate investors, operators, funds, sponsors, and developers. In addition to joint ventures and loans (including senior and mezzanine loan transactions), he also helps clients navigate development, property management, acquisitions (including assemblages), and dispositions. His experience covers all asset classes, with a primary focus on industrial, multifamily, student housing, retail, and mixed-use properties.

Concentrations

  • Industrial
  • Multifamily
  • Student housing
  • Retail
  • Mixed-use
  • Private equity
  • Joint ventures and loans
  • Debt finance
  • Development
  • Acquisitions
  • Dispositions
  • Complex transactions (e.g. “flips” and “forwards”)

Capabilities

Experience

  • Represented a publicly traded REIT to recapitalize a national portfolio of multifamily assets with an aggregate value in excess of $1 billion.
  • Represented a developer in a co-GP transaction, and the GP to make a minority partner investment in multiple mixed-use developments in Austin, Texas, each with total capitalization in excess of $500 million.
  • Represented an institutional investor to make a majority partner investment in a multifamily development in Brooklyn, New York, with a total capitalization in excess of $180 million.
  • Represented a sponsor/developer to create a platform to acquire medical facilities nationally with a commitment in excess of $250 million.
  • Represented a borrower obtaining a construction loan in excess of $500 million for a mixed-use development in Austin, Texas.
  • Represented a borrower to refinance a portfolio of assets (in various locations nationally) with a cumulative loan amount in excess of $350 million.
  • Represented a borrower obtaining a construction loan in excess of $300 million for a mixed-use development in Austin, Texas.
  • Represented a borrower obtaining a construction loan in excess of $90 million for a student housing development in Los Angeles, California.
  • Represented seller of an industrial portfolio (in various locations nationally) for a price in excess of $200 million.
  • Represented seller of an industrial business park in Goodyear, Arizona, for a price in excess of $180 million.
  • Represented purchaser of a portfolio of industrial assets located in Mexico for a price in excess of $500 million.
  • Represented purchaser of an office campus in Austin, Texas, for a price in excess of $100 million.

Recognition & Leadership

  • Listed, Leading Lawyers Network, 2022-2024
    • Emerging Lawyer, 2018-2021
    • Top 100 Emerging Real Estate-Related Lawyers in Illinois, 2019-2020
  • Team Member, Chambers & Partners USA Real Estate Law Firm of the Year, 2013, 2017-2018, and 2022
  • Team Member, a U.S. News - Best Lawyers®"Law Firm of the Year" in Real Estate Law, 2015
  • Team Member, The Legal 500 United States, "Top Tier" Firm in Real Estate, 2013 and 2014
  • Team Member, a Law360 "Real Estate Practice Group of the Year," 2012-2013, 2015, and 2022

Credentials

Education
  • J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2007
    • Notes and Comments Editor, Chicago-Kent Law Review
    • Order of the Coif
    • Dean’s List
  • B.A., University of Wisconsin, 2004
Admissions
  • Illinois