Cristina T. Sanchez

Associate

  • Cristina T. Sanchez
  • Phone: +1 305 960 2262

    Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    201 S. Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 3400
    Miami, FL 33131-4325
    USA
  • Duane Morris LLP
    Boca Center Tower II
    5100 Town Center Circle, Suite 400
    Boca Raton, FL 33486-1008
    USA

Cristina T. Sanchez focuses her practice in the area of commercial leasing and commercial real estate finance. Ms. Sanchez has experience drafting complex commercial leases, subleases and assignments or other transfers of retail and office space. She also has experience representing lenders in all aspects of real estate financing, including the negotiation, documentation and closing of commercial loan transactions. 

Ms. Sanchez has served as commercial leasing counsel for ownership acting as an international commercial investment advisor to funds, REITs and pensions, with a focus on day-to-day ownership decisions and legal actions, including retail and office lease negotiations at approximately 70 medium-to regional-sized retail shopping centers in multiple U.S. states. She also has served as landlord’s counsel in connection with anchor and junior anchor deals (new leases, expansions, contractions, relocations, extensions, assignments, collateralizations for debt, and assignments) at multiple shopping centers across the United States.

Ms. Sanchez is a 2013 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, where she was associate and contributing editor of the Journal of Race and Law, and a cum laude graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University. She is fluent in Spanish.

Areas of Practice

  • Commercial Leasing

  • Commercial Real Estate Finance

Representative Matters

    Leasing

  • Served as landlord‘s counsel to a community development organization in its lease to a state community college to operate an education facility in a building under construction.

  • Representing a real estate property advisor wholly owned by an international bank, as landlord’s counsel, in its lease of a 22,000 square foot space to an anchor tenant at a popular shopping center in the Washington, D.C. suburbs.

  • Represented a real estate property advisor wholly owned by an international bank, as landlord's counsel, in the ground lease, including indoor and outdoor seating areas plus a drive-thru lane, of a free standing national chain restaurant at a shopping center in Pennsylvania.

  • Represented a real estate property advisor wholly owned by an international bank, as landlord's counsel, in its lease, including indoor and outdoor seating areas plus a drive-thru lane, to a new concept restaurant to be constructed in Palm Harbor, Florida.

  • Represented a real estate property trust, as landlord's counsel, in the lease of a 27,000 square foot store space for a major national soft goods retailer at an Illinois shopping center.

  • Represented a real estate property trust, as landlord's counsel, in the lease of a 10,000 square foot tavern/bar/restaurant in a mixed-use project on a brownfield superfund site along the Hudson River.

  • Represented a real estate property trust, as landlord's counsel, in the ground lease of a free standing southern barbeque national chain restaurant at a shopping center in Illinois.

  • Represented a movie theater chain, as tenant's counsel, in the lease of a 52,000 square foot movie theater at a Rhode Island mall.

  • Represented a real estate property trust, as landlord's counsel, in the lease of a 13,000 square foot store space for a major national cosmetics retailer at an Illinois shopping center.

  • Represented a real estate property trust, as landlord's counsel, in the ground lease of a Southern regional chicken chain restaurant at a Massachusetts shopping center.

  • Represented a shopping center in making leasing and other ownership and operating decisions; analyzed exclusives and existing public record documents to assist the client in dealing with restrictions, prohibitions, requirements, and other use and operational specifics which affect each asset for retail center ownership.

  • Served as landlord’s counsel in connection with the leasing of an approximately 2,500 square foot retail space for a national franchise tenant in a mixed use project.

  • Served as landlord’s counsel in connection with the leasing of over 26,000 square foot office space to national tenant.

    • Financing

  • Represented Rocket Development Partners LLC in the closing of a $100M equity investment, $100M senior construction loan, and a $15M mezzanine loan for a $217.5M construction project in Huntsville, Alabama.

  • Represented the Spanish American Civic Association for Equality, Inc. in expanding its workforce training center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, obtaining a $7 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation with Cinnaire New Markets LLC, with JP Morgan Chase investing in the federal tax credits. 

  • Represented BGFP Philadelphia LLC, a joint venture comprised of affiliates of BG Capital and Freezpak, in securing a $42.5 million construction loan from Ocean First Bank and a $30 million CPACE loan from Nuveen Green; the loans will facilitate the construction of a $93 million, 172,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art cold storage warehouse in Philadelphia.

  • Represented Patton Partners, LLC, in closing a construction loan, the proceeds of which will be used to purchase and repurpose a building to create 42 units of market rate housing. The joint venture is structured as a qualified opportunity zone business (QOZB).

  • Represented High Properties on a $22.5 million construction loan and note purchase on behalf of a single purpose entity in order to complete construction of a medical office building in Manheim Township, Lancaster County being built by High Construction on behalf of Penn State Health.

  • Represented various subsidiaries of BG Capital, one of Philadelphia’s leading real estate investment and development companies, in the $50 million sale and refinancing of four separate properties in Philadelphia locally referred to as the Commonwealth Portfolio, to an affiliate of the Hampshire Companies.

  • Served as counsel to lender in connection with $9 million dollar refinancing of a hotel on Miami Beach.

  • Served as counsel to owner-developer in negotiation and closing of $30 million CMBS loan secured by shopping center located in Miami Lakes, Florida.

  • Represented ResinTech and ActionPak in a $128 million transaction centered around the adaptive reuse of 27 acres of environmentally contaminated property in Camden, New Jersey. The site is being converted into the client's new global headquarters.

  • Represented BankUnited, N.A. on a $35 million mortgage loan secured by 119 5th Avenue, New York, New York.

Admissions

  • Florida

Education

  • University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 2013
    - Contributing Editor, Journal of Race and Law, 2012-2013; Associate Editor, 2011-2012
  • Barnard College, Columbia University, B.A., cum laude, 2010

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Associate, 2017-present
  • Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A.
    - Associate, 2014-2017
  • Weissman & Dervshi P.A.
    - Associate, 2013-2014

Professional Activities

  • Ransom Everglades School, Alumni Board Member

  • Ransom Everglades School, Young Benefactor Circle, Committee Member

  • Urban Land Institute Southeast Florida/Caribbean Management Committee, Young Leaders Group Chair, 2018-2020

  • Urban Land Institute, Member, 2013-present; Young Leaders Group Chair for Miami, 2013-2020

  • The Underline, Young Professionals Organization

Honors and Awards

  • Listed in Florida Legal Awards On The Rise List, 2022 

Selected Publications

Media Hits

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "Florida Entertainment and Sports Law Review (FESLR)'s Future of Real Estate Panel," University of Florida Levin College of Law, February 23, 2023