| Brian Blaesser heads the Land Use and Real Estate Development Group in Boston, where he practices in the areas of commercial real estate development and redevelopment, leasing, multifamily residential development, land use and environmental law, planning law, condemnation law, and litigation.
Mr. Blaesser represents real estate owners, investors, and developers in analyzing and securing requisite land use and development approvals from local governments, in negotiating and drafting development agreements, and in handling development projects that involve a wide range of environmental transactional and regulatory permitting matters with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Mr. Blaesser formerly served as special assistant attorney general for eminent domain actions brought by the Illinois Departments of Transportation and Conservation and has extensive experience in state and federal trial and appellate courts in real estate and land use litigation, including the takings issue, vested rights, condemnation, U.S. EPA enforcement actions, and violations of Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act. In his current practice, he handles condemnation matters for landowners and developers and is the principal author of the book Condemnation of Property: Practice and Strategies for Winning Just Compensation (Wiley Law Publications: 1994) and is coauthor of the book Federal Land Use Law & Litigation (Thomson-West: 2008). He is also the coauthor of "Kelo-Provoked Changes to the Rules of Eminent Domain" in the ICSC Retail Law Strategist (Vol. 8: Issue 6, June 2008).
As another dimension of his real estate development practice, Mr. Blaesser structures public/private partnerships with state and local governments on behalf of developer clients and is experienced in utilizing public financing mechanisms, such as special assessment districts and tax increment financing to achieve economic development objectives. He is the principal author of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Study prepared for the National Association of Realtors. Mr. Blaesser is coeditor and coauthor of the just-published ABA book entitled Redevelopment: Planning, Law and Project Implementation (ABA Publishing: 2008), which covers the redevelopment process — from land assembly through the entitlement process to management of the project. He also is an appointed member of the National Association of Industrial Properties (NAIOP) National Forum on Urban Redevelopment.
Mr. Blaesser is also the author of the book Discretionary Land Use Controls: Avoiding Invitations to Abuse of Discretion (Thomson-West: 11th ed. 2008). In addition to his books and articles on redevelopment, eminent domain, federal land use litigation, and discretionary land use approvals, Mr. Blaesser is the author or coauthor of numerous other publications on land use and real estate development, including "Retail Space for Lease? Chain Stores Need Not Apply," Retail Law Strategist (Part I: December 2006: Vol. 6 Issue 12; Part II: January 2007: Vol.1 Issue 1); "Smart Growth: Legal Assumptions and Market Realities," Chapter 8 in the book Smart Growth: Form and Consequences (Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: 2002); Environmental Law and Transportation (National Cooperative Highway Research Program: Transportation Research Board (TRB), Washington, D.C.: 2003); "The Importance of ‘Process' in Smart Growth Initiatives: Ballot Box Versus Streamlining" in Land Use Law & Zoning Digest (Vol. 52, No. 6, June, 2000); "Growth Management: A Developer's Perspective" in Development (Vol.: XXIX, No. 3: 1998); "New Federal Wetlands Policy: The Landowner's Perspective" in Land Use Law & Zoning Digest (Vol. 46, No. 1, January, 1994); "Negotiating Entitlements" in Urban Land (December 1991); "Impact Fees: The Second Generation," in 38 Journal of Urban and Contemporary Law 401 (1990); "Practical Concerns of the Private Developer in Public/Private Real Estate Ventures" in Developing Real Estate Through Public/Private Ventures (ABA National Institute: 1990); and "Closing the Federal Courthouse Door on Property Owners: The Ripeness and Abstention Doctrines in Section 1983 Land Use Cases," 2 Hofstra Property Law Journal 73 (Spring 1989). In 1999, Mr. Blaesser chaired a national task force on Growth Management for NAIOP, which produced the report Growing to Greatness (NAIOP: 1999).
Mr. Blaesser is an appointed member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) national Environmental Subcommittee and is the 2008-appointed ICSC State Alliance cochair for Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. He also serves on the Editorial Board of the ICSC Retail Law Strategist. Mr. Blaesser also is the appointed cochair of Growth Committee for NAIOP-Massachusetts. He is an elected member of Lambda Alpha International, the honorary land economics society.
Mr. Blaesser received his B.A. from Brown University, cum laude, and his J.D. from Boston College, where he served as an editor of the Law Review. He also holds a masters in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a Fulbright Scholar. |
