Erika L. Bruce
E-mail: Location: Dallas Office
Telephone: (972) 419-7146
Contact Erika L. Bruce using the contact form on the right.
Legal Assistant: Sandra Self
Ms. Bruce's practice covers purchases and sales of real estate, finance, commercial leasing, and real estate development. In the area of retail development, leasing, and financing, Ms. Bruce represents and counsels owners, investors, landlords, tenants, and developers in a wide variety of complex transactions including negotiating leases with major anchor and national chain tenants. She regularly handles reciprocal easement and covenant agreements, build-to-suit transactions, and financing arrangements.
Ms. Bruce also helps structure and negotiate property management agreements as well as construction contracts with contractors, development agreements with developers, and owner-architect agreements with architects. She has also represented owners, borrowers, and investors in tenant bankruptcy situations and foreclosure-related issues.
In acquisitions and sales, Ms. Bruce represents developers, investors, institutions, and other privately held buyers, sellers, and lenders in the acquisition, sale, exchange, and financing of improved and unimproved real estate, including office, retail, multifamily, single-family, industrial, and mixed-use projects, as well as raw land, including structuring and documenting ground leases.
While a law student, Ms. Bruce was an associate editor of the St. Mary's Law Journal. She is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Speeches/Presentations: Overall Issues of Develpment/Leasing involving an Equity Investor and a Tight Time Frame, "International Counsel of Shopping Centers Law Conference (ICSC), Palm Desert, California, October 2001.
Selected as a Texas Rising Star (Super Lawyer), Texas Monthly Magazine [2007, 2008, 2009].
Practice GroupsConcentration
- Commercial Real Estate
Education:
Washington University (B.A. 1992)
St. Mary's University School of Law (J.D. 1995)
Affiliations:
State Bar of Texas
Dallas Bar Association
United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Dallas Young Lawyers Association
Representative Engagements:
Smith/Cypress Joint Venture – representation of Emmitt Smith in the negotiation of his partnership with Cypress Equities and the application for Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification, and ongoing retail and land development matters.
Canyon Hub Holdings and Artemio de la Vega – representation of owner/landlord in connection with the purchase and development, financing and leasing of a 1,000,000 s.f. “power” shopping center in Lubbock, Texas.
New Plan Excel Realty Trust and Oakridge Investments, Inc. - representation of owner/landlord in connection with the purchase, development, financing, leasing, and sale of a 1,100,000-square-foot "power" shopping center in Frisco, Texas.
LSM Center Partners - representation of owner/landlord in connection with the purchase, development, financing, and leasing of a multiphase 500,000-square-foot "power" shopping center in Plano, Texas.
ORIX Real Estate Capital, Inc. and Hunt Properties, Inc. - representation of owner/landlord in connection with the purchase, development, financing, and leasing of a multiphase 400,000-square-foot "power" shopping center in Denton, Texas.
ORIX Real Estate Capital, Inc. - representation of equity investor/owner in connection with the purchase, development, financing, and leasing of a (i) multiphase 200,000-square-foot "power" shopping center in Lufkin, Texas, (ii) multiphase 350,000-square-foot "power" shopping center in Abilene, Texas, and (iv) multiphase 400,000-square-foot "power" shopping center in Pueblo, Colorado.
Waxahachie Towne Partners, Ltd. - representation of owner/landlord in connection with the purchase, development, financing, and leasing of a multiphase 300,000-square-foot "power" shopping center in Waxahachie, Texas.
Sanikos Legacy – representation of owner/landlord in connection with the purchase, development, financing and leasing of a multi-phase 600,000 s.f. “power” shopping center in San Antonio, Texas
Shafer Property Company – representation of owner/landlord in connection with the purchase, development and leasing of shopping centers in Forney and Frisco, Texas.
George W. Allen - representation of owner/landlord in connection with the purchase, development, financing, leasing and sale of a multiphase 350,000 square-foot "power" shopping center in Forney, Texas anchored by Wal-Mart and Lowe's.
Representation of multiple owners/landlords in leasing of multiphase "power" shopping centers and smaller developments with tenants such as: Academy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Belk, Best Buy, Dress Barn, DSW Warehouse, Dunlap's, Famous Footwear, Gap, Gart/Oshman's, Hollywood Video, Lenscrafters, Lane Bryant, Linens'N Things, Marmaxx (TJ Maxx, Home Goods and Marshalls) Michael's, Office Max, Old Navy, Payless, Pier 1, Ross Stores, Shoe Carnival, Staples, and T-Mobile; sales (along with site development agreements) to: Kohl's, Kroger, Lowe's, and Wal-Mart; and ground leases or pad sales to: Brinker's (Chili's, Macaroni Grill), Carino's, Colter's, Ethan Allen, Kinko's, LaZBoy, SouthTrust Bank, Walgreen's and Whataburger.
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