Profile
Kostas Poulakidas focuses on project and public finance, providing legal and strategic guidance to clients involved in complex infrastructure and real estate projects, particularly those utilizing government financing and public-private partnerships. He advises on structuring transactions to maximize value through legal financing arrangements.
Kostas has deep project finance experience, advising businesses from startups to Fortune 500 companies, as well as real estate developers, private equity funds, and investors on real estate development, infrastructure projects, public-private partnerships, tax increment financing, and leveraging federal, state, and local incentives.
Additionally, with his experience in public finance, Kostas has played key roles in a wide range of projects involving municipal and state tax-exempt and taxable bonds. He has served as bond counsel, bank counsel, underwriter’s counsel, and issuer’s counsel, as well as handled advisory work on tax incentives and economic development structures.
Kostas also brings deep government experience to his practice to assist clients navigate projects that involve partnerships or oversight by government officials. He previously served as Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Chief Counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration, advising on legal and strategic matters. At the state level, he held several positions in Indiana government, including Special Assistant to Gov. Evan Bayh, Executive Director of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, and Deputy Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
In recognition of his service, Kostas was awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash, Indiana’s highest civilian honor, by two governors. He also served as a federal law clerk to the Hon. Lawrence S. Margolis on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and is a graduate of the Venture Capital Institute and the Private Equity and Venture Capital program at Harvard Business School.
Capabilities
Experience
- Negotiated and structured $62 million in economic development tax and financing for a $240 million biodiesel facility.°
- Served as counsel to a municipality in connection with $834 million in economic development incentives to a major U.S. automotive manufacturer.°
- Developed strategy and negotiated $57.5 million economic development agreement for a $490 million alternative energy facility.°
- Advised a multinational civil and defense aerospace manufacturer in negotiating $23 million in economic development incentives.°
- Structured real estate private equity funds for retail, commercial, and hotel acquisition and development.°
- Structured 100% financing as bank counsel for a hotel project.°
- Advised an investment fund and real estate developers to structure Qualified Opportunity Zone projects for hotel acquisition and construction financing.°
- Advised a municipality on strategy for attracting manufacturing company to relocate its headquarters using various economic development and project financing options.°
- Advised a manufacturer in negotiating an economic development incentive package, including personal property abatement, $1.5 million in economic development tax increment bonds, and $13 million of tax-exempt bonds.°
- Represented a pharmaceutical manufacturer in negotiating $1.2 million in local and state economic development incentives, $8 million in tax increment financing support, and $45 million in tax-exempt project financing.°
- Represented a manufacturing company in negotiating brownfield redevelopment and property acquisition using tax increment financing and economic development incentives.°
- Served as bond counsel for $400 million in air quality development revenue funding bonds for a publicly traded energy company.°
- Served as bond counsel for $67 million in state finance authority environmental refunding bonds.°
- Served as bond counsel for tax increment financing of a wide range of economic development projects.°
- Served as bond counsel on taxable and tax-exempt bond structure for retail.°
- Served as underwriter’s counsel for $85 million in capital facilities lease appropriation bonds.°
- Served as underwriter’s counsel for $95 million in school building corporation refunding bonds.°
- Served as bond counsel on numerous municipal general obligation, revenue, public improvement, infrastructure, utility, storm water, and refunding bonds.°
°The above representations were handled by Mr. Poulakidas prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
- Chief of Staff & Senior Advisor, Office of the FAA Chief Counsel, Federal Aviation Administration, 2023-2024
- Deputy Corporate Counsel and Section Chief, City of Indianapolis, 2005
- Deputy Commissioner, Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF), 2003-2005
- Deputy Attorney General, Appellate and Government Litigation Divisions, Office of the Indiana Attorney General, 1999-2001
- Executive Director, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, 1996
- Special Assistant to the Governor (Gov. Evan Bayh), Office of the Governor of Indiana, 1995-1996
Recognition & Leadership
- Selected, Opportunity Zone magazine, “Top 25 Most Influential Opportunity Zone Attorneys,” 2019-2021
- Recipient, Sagamore of the Wabash (Indiana Governor Bayh and Governor Kernan)
- Member, Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure (AIAI)
- Member, National Association of Bond Lawyers
- Member, National Workshop Conference Steering Committee, 2021-2023
- Member, National Hellenic Society
- Member, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
- Member, Chicagoland Opportunity Zone Consortium Working Group
Credentials
-
J.D., Indiana University Maurer School of Law
- Executive Editor, Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies
- M.B.A., Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management
- M.A., American University School of International Service
- B.S., Ball State University
- Hon. Lawrence S. Margolis, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 2001-2002
- Illinois
- Indiana