MIAMI – June 4, 2019 –James O. Lang, a shareholder of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A., spoke June 4 at the 41st Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference on a panel discussion about “Qualified Opportunity Zones/Qualified Opportunity Funds.”
The Conference, which took place June 2-4 at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City, is the premier hospitality finance and development forum of its kind. Global hotel CEOs, owners, developers, investors, lenders, and analysts convene to discuss current issues, as well as the future of the industry. Contributions from sponsor organizations of the event provide student scholarships and support the educational programs of the NYUSPS Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality.
Lang’s panel focused on how qualified opportunity zones provide an incentive for real estate and operating businesses to invest in targeted areas. The panelists discussed how hospitality and hotel assets may be uniquely positioned to take advantage of this new incentive program through both real estate development and substantial rehabilitation of existing structures, as well as through the funding of the operations and appreciation in value related to the business.
Lang was joined on the panel by Carla Campos, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company; S. Lawrence Davis, president and CEO of Shorewood Real Estate Group; Michael Tillman, managing principal of PTM Partners; and Larry Wright Jr., president and CEO of Wright Investments.
Lang has been an early proponent of the utilization of Qualified Opportunity Zones and implementing this transformative tax incentive. At Greenberg Traurig, he worked to understand the program’s complexities, educate fellow attorneys on their implementation, and built a new cross-practice team, which comprises members of the Tax, Corporate, Real Estate, Real Estate Funds, and Public Finance practices, to use the program for job creation and revitalization of neighborhoods.
Lang’s wide-ranging tax practice and in-depth understanding of the program has benefited Greenberg Traurig’s clients and communities across the country. He is already in documentation, marketing, or closing over $8 billion of Qualified Opportunity Funds and ancillary Qualified Opportunity Zone Business deployment, and has closed, or is structuring several billion dollars in tax credit incentivized transactions. He represents funds, investors, sponsors, and developers in the Qualified Opportunity Zone space. He also represents lenders, community development entities, tax equity, and for-profit and not-for-profit project sponsors in tax credit transactions.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 39 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.