Harvey C. Johnson

Of Counsel

  • Harvey C. Johnson
  • Phone: +1 856 874 4274

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  • Duane Morris LLP
    1940 Route 70 East, Suite 100
    Cherry Hill, NJ 08003-2171
    USA

Harvey C. Johnson practices in the area of real estate law and litigation. Mr. Johnson has handled a wide variety of litigation matters, ranging from administrative law issues to jury trials at which millions of dollars were at stake for his clients. He represents major developers and assists them in obtaining the necessary government approvals for large housing-development projects, electrical cogeneration plants, solar energy and wind energy projects, and commercial developments. He also provides counsel to government entities throughout the state of New Jersey on real estate issues.

Mr. Johnson also represents developers in connection with the development of affordable housing projects that use federal low income housing tax credits and state and federal subsidy programs.

Mr. Johnson previously served as general counsel to the South Jersey Port Corporation, where he helped the state agency acquire numerous parcels of land and buildings to expand the port. He routinely assists both public and private clients in obtaining various approvals and permits from the Pinelands Commission and from the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection. He also previously represented Deptford Township and the Camden City Board of Education.

Mr. Johnson served for 12 years as the Municipal Judge of Lawnside, New Jersey.

Areas of Practice

  • Affordable Housing
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Government Law
  • Real Estate Law
  • Eminent Domain
  • Property Tax Appeals
  • Public Finance

Representative Matters

  • Represented Tryko Holdings, an operator of affordable housing developments and nursing homes on the east coast, in obtaining a $4,101,250 Grow NJ Award to construct a new office building in Brick, NJ.

  • Obtained land use approvals for HighMark Schools to develop a $20 million charter school in the former Trenton Times building, in Trenton, New Jersey and a $14 million charter school in Pleasantville, New Jersey.

  • Representing Highmark Schools, the developer of a proposed project to turn a former water treatment factory into a new home for the Vineland Public Charter School.

  • Obtained a 30 year tax abatement (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) for client's office project in Woodbury, New Jersey. The abatement will save the client hundreds of thousands of dollars in property tax payments over the terms of the abatement.

  • Represented an equipment loan financer in the negotiation of a $21.5 million lease-purchase agreement for energy-saving equipment to the Trenton Housing Authority.

  • Represented a leading manufacturer and supplier of licorice products to the tobacco industry in an appeal of the property tax assessment for its Camden, N.J. properties, resulting in a $3.49 million assessment reduction and saving more than $86,000 yearly in property taxes.

  • Represented Camden Lutheran Housing, Inc. in an appeal of the property tax assessment for the Cooper Waterfront Homes. Obtained decision from the Camden County Board of Taxation reducing the property tax assessment for the development from $3,030,400 to $2,230,400.

  • Obtained a use variance and preliminary site-plan approval for Pennoni Associates to construct a 4.5 to 5–megawatt solar-generation facility on 35 acres in Deptford Township, N.J.

  • Represented the board of education of a large New Jersey city in all its procurement matters, including reviewing bid specifications, participating in bid openings and advising on awarding of contracts.

  • Representing a New Jersey county in its construction procurement, including reviewing bid specifications, participating in bid openings, advising on awarding of contracts and handling multiple bid protests.

  • Drafted leases for the South Jersey Port Corp. for its industrial tenants.

  • Represented Cogen Technologies in obtaining planning-board and zoning-board approvals for a 154MW, $150 million co-generation plant in Camden, NJ.

  • Represented Cogen Technologies in the energy-deregulation process in New Jersey for their Camden (154MW), Linden (700 MW) and Bayone (174MW) cogeneration plants.

  • Represented Cogen Technologies in obtaining a ruling from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities that a cogeneration plant was not a regulated utility and thus could operate a steam loop in Camden, New Jersey for up to 12 clients without being regulated.

  • Represented Pennrose Properties in obtaining all of their planning-board and zoning-board approvals for the $120 million Baldwin's Run Hope VI housing development in Camden, New Jersey.

  • Represented Pennrose Properties in obtaining planning-board and zoning-board approvals for their $50 million Hope VI housing development in the Centerville area of Camden, New Jersey.

  • Representing Michaels Development Corp. in obtaining planning-board and zoning-board approvals for their $50 million Hope VI housing development in Camden, NJ.

  • Represented the Gloucester County Improvement Authority as special counsel for the $150 million courthouse renovation and expansion project.

  • Representing the City of Trenton as special counsel for the acquisition of land and for handling eminent domain actions.

  • Representing a renewable energy company in securing land-development approvals to construct a large solar project in a rural area in southern New Jersey.

Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, J.D., 1969
  • University of Delaware, B.A., 1966

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2009-present
  • WolfBlock LLP
    - Partner, 2006-2009
  • Harvey C. Johnson, P.C., 1969-2005

Professional Activities

  • Camden County Bar Association
  • New Jersey State Bar Association

Honors and Awards

  • Recipient, American Red Cross, Camden County Chapter 2006 Good Neighbor Award
  • Recipient Rutgers Black Law Students Association Martin Luther King Award for 2009

No aspect of these rankings has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Further information on methodologies is available via these links.

Board Memberships

  • First President of the Black People's Unity Movement

  • Former Member, Board of Trustees, Rutgers University
  • Member, Board of Directors, First Colonial National Bank
    - Chair, Compensation Committee
  • Former Member, Board of Directors, U.S. Vision, Inc., which was third largest optical company in the U.S.

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "Corridors of Opportunity Camden New Jersey," Adventure Aquarium, Camden, New Jersey, June 28, 2016
  • Panelist, "Meet the Policy Makers, New Jersey Opportunity Act of 2013," Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey, January 17, 2014