Kelley M. Johnson

Corporate Real Estate

Kelley manages acquisitions and dispositions for a diverse mix of property types, such as office buildings, retail malls and industrial complexes. She is also well-versed in leasing, including in the health care, office, industrial and retail sectors.

Locally, Kelley has represented landlords in retail and office leases, but her practice is not limited to the Philadelphia area. She facilitates portfolio loans involving dozens of properties across multiple states, as well as joint-venture transactions involving assets located throughout the country.

Real Estate & Construction Finance

In a wide range of real estate-secured finance transactions for a variety of property uses, Kelley has represented both lenders and borrowers. She is knowledgeable in all manners of the loan life cycle — from negotiating loan documents, conducting due diligence and completing closing.

Real Estate Development

Kelley assists clients with their real estate development needs in Pennsylvania. She has led clients through the creation and administration of planned communities for multiphased development projects.

Experience Representing:

• A national developer in connection with its acquisition of a 170-acre parcel in Chester County, Pennsylvania, for the development of three warehouse/distribution buildings totaling 1.9 million square-feet, including handling due diligence, land use approvals, and negotiating agreements with municipal and state government authorities. (Recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as “Best Real Estate Deals of 2023: First Place – Industrial Sale Category.”)
• A university in connection with its long-term lease and development agreement with a student- and multifamily-housing developer for the lease of an air-rights estate in a high-rise graduate-student housing tower on the university’s campus, providing for the redevelopment and operation of the building.
• A national industrial developer in its acquisition of three adjacent parcels containing 107 acres in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, as well as subsequent sale of the entire site to an investor/owner, and execution of a development management agreement with the investor/owner to construct two warehouse/distribution facilities containing a total of 1.3 million square-feet.
• A national industrial developer in its acquisition of a property containing approximately 95 acres in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, and execution of a management agreement for development of approximately 700,000 square-feet of warehouse/industrial space.
• A developer in its creation of a planned community for a large class A industrial park consisting of over 1,200 acres.
• A developer in its sale of an approximately 68-acre industrial parcel for the development of an approximately 1.2 million square-foot distribution center, including the negotiation of a development agreement and various easements.
• A developer in its relocation of an industrial tenant to a new location within a class A industrial park, including execution of a long-term ground lease and negotiation of amendments to existing lease documents.
• A national life insurance company in the acquisition of numerous class A multifamily properties with purchase prices aggregating $1.3 billion.
• A publicly traded retail REIT as its primary transactional counsel in connection with its restructuring of three main credit facilities aggregating $1 billion, secured by mortgages and deeds of trust encumbering 13 properties in multiple states.
• A publicly traded company in the negotiation of over 50 inpatient hospital leases throughout the country.
• A leading provider of rehabilitation health care services and long-term acute care hospitals in its structuring and formation of joint ventures with nonprofit health systems in over 15 states, including contribution agreements, LLC agreements and business management agreements.
• A nonprofit health system in its sale and leaseback of multiple medical office buildings for a sale price of $137 million.

Personal Interests

Outside of the office, Kelley enjoys spending time with her husband and teenage son. She also loves cheering on Philly sports teams, watching cooking competitions, traveling to Hawaii, and reading.