Ronald S.Gart
Partner
Real Estate
rgart@seyfarth.com
When it comes to the intricate aspects of real estate law, Ron serves his clients as a team member, helping them achieve their goals from the ground up.
More About Ron
Commercial real estate transactions have become increasingly complex and fast-paced—so much so that counsel must be simultaneously proactive and reactive to the business and legal concerns that arise. Ron and his team understand the priorities of clients in connection with these transactions, and address those priorities quickly, thoroughly, and to the satisfaction of his clients.
Having practiced for more than 40 years representing owners, operators, lenders, tenants, developers, and investors, Ron has gained the perspectives of most of the parties to a transaction. He uses those perspectives to the advantage of his clients in order to achieve the clients' goals and objectives. Clients appreciate that Ron understands their business, and his advice on how to achieve those objectives efficiently and successfully.
Ron has represented clients in real estate development, finance, lending, asset management, asset purchase and sales, commercial leasing, mixed-use development, and planned communities, including condominium ownership. As counsel on many successful projects, he has conceptualized and documented mixed-use office, retail, and residential projects. He has counseled developers in connection with the acquisition and development of historic structures, including an award-winning project involving an historic rehabilitation adjoined by a newly constructed commercial/retail project that will also serve as the headquarters for an international company. He also has helped clients structure investment vehicles to utilize historic tax credits and multiple sources of equity and debt funding. Ron's practice has also involved multiple acquisitions structured to address Sharia financing.
As counsel to commercial banks, thrift institutions, and the former Resolution Trust Corporation, Ron has represented lenders in loan originations, including construction and term loans, mezzanine and conduit financings, and loan workouts, restructurings, and foreclosures, some of which have involved complex litigation and bankruptcy issues. Projects for which his clients have made secured loans include student housing, hotels, multifamily, mixed-use, office, and retail developments; several projects have involved unsubordinated ground leases.
Ron seeks collegiality in his interactions with clients and adverse parties, including counsel, with the expectation that this approach will result in a more efficient execution of these complex transactions.
Ron enjoys being part of a collaborative and cohesive firm, with attorneys and staff who work together to provide value. The team members he has worked with over the years have enthusiastically provided assistance, a quality he has come to expect from Seyfarth colleagues.
Having practiced for more than 40 years representing owners, operators, lenders, tenants, developers, and investors, Ron has gained the perspectives of most of the parties to a transaction. He uses those perspectives to the advantage of his clients in order to achieve the clients' goals and objectives. Clients appreciate that Ron understands their business, and his advice on how to achieve those objectives efficiently and successfully.
Ron has represented clients in real estate development, finance, lending, asset management, asset purchase and sales, commercial leasing, mixed-use development, and planned communities, including condominium ownership. As counsel on many successful projects, he has conceptualized and documented mixed-use office, retail, and residential projects. He has counseled developers in connection with the acquisition and development of historic structures, including an award-winning project involving an historic rehabilitation adjoined by a newly constructed commercial/retail project that will also serve as the headquarters for an international company. He also has helped clients structure investment vehicles to utilize historic tax credits and multiple sources of equity and debt funding. Ron's practice has also involved multiple acquisitions structured to address Sharia financing.
As counsel to commercial banks, thrift institutions, and the former Resolution Trust Corporation, Ron has represented lenders in loan originations, including construction and term loans, mezzanine and conduit financings, and loan workouts, restructurings, and foreclosures, some of which have involved complex litigation and bankruptcy issues. Projects for which his clients have made secured loans include student housing, hotels, multifamily, mixed-use, office, and retail developments; several projects have involved unsubordinated ground leases.
Ron seeks collegiality in his interactions with clients and adverse parties, including counsel, with the expectation that this approach will result in a more efficient execution of these complex transactions.
Ron enjoys being part of a collaborative and cohesive firm, with attorneys and staff who work together to provide value. The team members he has worked with over the years have enthusiastically provided assistance, a quality he has come to expect from Seyfarth colleagues.
- JD, The George Washington University Law School
- BA, The George Washington University
Degree with distinction
Phi Beta Kappa
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- Virginia
- US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit
- US District Court, District of Columbia
- Represented client in multiple Sharia-compliant transactions.
- Represented the District of Columbia in connection with City Center, a trophy mixed-use project developed on 9.4 acres in the East End.
- Represented developers in complex ground lease ground-up development and historic office property development.
Related News & Insights
-
Podcast
Oct 14, 2024
The Property Line: Financing Transit-Oriented Development With the DOT’s Build America Bureau
-
Firm News
08/15/2024
220 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2025
-
Legal Update
Aug 5, 2024
House Representatives Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Facilitate Residential Conversions of Buildings
-
Legal Update
Jun 28, 2024
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen Announces New Initiatives to Lower Housing Costs on Behalf of the Biden Administration
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.) for Real Estate Law (2007-2025)
- Recognized for Real Estate (District of Columbia) by Chambers USA (2009-2024)
- Named to the Washingtonian's Lawyer Lifetime Achievement list (2022)
- Recognized for Real Estate by The Legal 500 (Legalese Ltd.) (2011, 2020)
- "One of Washington’s Top Lawyers," Washingtonian (2004-2023)
- Peer-rated "AV Preeminent" for Highest Legal Ability and Ethical Standards, Martindale-Hubbell (2017)
- Listed among the "Best Lawyers" for Real Estate Law, Northern Virginia Magazine (2016)
- Selected as a Lawdragon 500 finalist (2007)
- District of Columbia Bar Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Section
- District of Columbia Building Industry Association former board member
- Mortgage Bankers Association of Metropolitan Washington former board member
- Urban Land Institute (Baltimore & ULI Washington TOD Product Council, 2024-present; Washington advisory board, 2006-2020; Annual Trends Conference chair, 2014-2016)
- Real Estate Roundtable (capital markets committee, 2017-present)
- Co-Author, “House Representatives Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Facilitate Residential Conversions of Buildings,” Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (August 5, 2024)
- Co-Author, “Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen Announces New Initiatives to Lower Housing Costs on Behalf of the Biden Administration,” Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (June 28, 2024)
- Author, "DC Sources New Revenue From Assignments of Long-Term Leases," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (June 27, 2024)
- Author, "DC Proposes Tax Abatement to Incentivize Conversion to Housing Development," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (February 7, 2024)
- Co-Author, "White House Implements Plans to Facilitate Office-to-Residential Conversions," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (December 8, 2023)
- Co-Author, "Effective as of July 1, 2023 the Commonwealth of Virginia Restricts Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (August 30, 2023)
- Co-Author, "Recordation and Transfer Tax Changes in Maryland and the District of Columbia," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (August 8, 2023)
- Co-Author, "Montgomery County, Maryland Adopts 6% Cap on Rent Increases," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (August 8, 2023)
- Co-Author, "Downtown DC’s Recovery: the District Government Hopes Incentives Will Help," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 5, 2022)
- Co-Author, "The District of Columbia’s Vaccine Mandate: What Businesses Need to Consider," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (January 24, 2022)
- Co-Author, "Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (2016-2024)
- Co-Author, "A Recap of Federal Loan Program Developments Affecting Commercial Real Estate," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 27, 2020)
- Co-Author, "FHFA and GSEs Issue Guidance on Assistance to Renters and Borrowers Impacted by COVID-19," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 25, 2020)
- Co-Author, "DC Recordation and Transfer Taxes Skyrocketing for Commercial Properties," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (July 25, 2019)
- Co-Author, "Does Your Lease Read like a Deed? Supreme Court of Virginia Weighs in on Execution Requirements for Most Leases in The Game Place, L.L.C. v. Fredericksburg 35, LLC," One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (June 22, 2018)
- Co-Author, "DC Proposed Regulations Modify Deed of Trust Recording Tax Exemptions," One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (November 29, 2017)
- “DC Court of Appeals Puts Deed of Trust Trustees on Notice: Trustees May Be Liable for Intentional Interference with Business Relations,” One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (August 30, 2012)
- Co-Author “Maryland Governor Signs Bill Taxing IDOTs,” One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 30, 2012)
- Co-Author, “Creditors Rights: Commercial Lenders Can Breathe Easier After In re Tousa Inc.,” BNA Bankruptcy Law Reporter (May 2011)
- Speaker, “The Property Line: Financing Transit-Oriented Development With the DOT’s Build America Bureau,” Podcast, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (October 14, 2024)
- Frequent guest on the podcast America’s Commercial Real Estate Show
- Co-Presenter, "The Property Line: Demystifying the Deed in Lieu," Podcast, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (July 6, 2023)
- Co-Speaker, "The Property Line: 2023 – A Year of Opportunity?," Podcast, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 20, 2023)
- Speaker, "The Property Line: The Need for Nimbleness in a Shifting Closing Landscape," Podcast, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (September 12, 2022)
- Speaker, The Property Line Podcast – Annual Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey Indicates Optimism for 2022 Despite Economic Challenges (March 14, 2022)
- Co-Presenter, "Subordination, Non-Disturbance, and Attornment Agreements: Drafting to Protect Lenders, Tenants, and Landlords," Strafford Webinar (September 9, 2021)
- Speaker, The Property Line Podcast - Annual Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey Indicates Optimistic Outlook for 2021 (March 1, 2021)
- Speaker, The Property Line Podcast - Special Edition: Essential Election Takeaways for CRE and 2021 Outlook (December 21, 2020)
- Co-Presenter, "Essential Election Takeaways for CRE and 2021 Outlook: Part 2: Impact on CRE Trends," Webinar, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (December 3, 2020)
- Co-Presenter, "Subordination, Non-Disturbance, and Attornment Agreements: Drafting to Protect Lenders, Tenants, and Landlords," Strafford Webinar (September 22, 2020)
- Co-Presenter, "Subordination, Non-Disturbance and Attornment Agreements in Commercial Leasing and Real Estate Finance," Lorman Webinar (May 16, 2019)
- "What It Takes: Mixed-Use Development in this Metro Area," 7th Annual Capital Region Real Estate Forum, presented by Washington Business Journal (October 26, 2011)
- "Capital Markets," 6th Annual Capital Region Real Estate Forum, presented by Washington Business Journal (October 13, 2010)
- Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Annual Ball executive committee (2004-2005)
"Key individuals in the practice include the 'extremely knowledgeable' Ron Gart, who heads the real estate team in Washington, DC." —From The Legal 500
When it comes to the intricate aspects of real estate law, Ron serves his clients as a team member, helping them achieve their goals from the ground up.
More About Ron
Commercial real estate transactions have become increasingly complex and fast-paced—so much so that counsel must be simultaneously proactive and reactive to the business and legal concerns that arise. Ron and his team understand the priorities of clients in connection with these transactions, and address those priorities quickly, thoroughly, and to the satisfaction of his clients.
Having practiced for more than 40 years representing owners, operators, lenders, tenants, developers, and investors, Ron has gained the perspectives of most of the parties to a transaction. He uses those perspectives to the advantage of his clients in order to achieve the clients' goals and objectives. Clients appreciate that Ron understands their business, and his advice on how to achieve those objectives efficiently and successfully.
Ron has represented clients in real estate development, finance, lending, asset management, asset purchase and sales, commercial leasing, mixed-use development, and planned communities, including condominium ownership. As counsel on many successful projects, he has conceptualized and documented mixed-use office, retail, and residential projects. He has counseled developers in connection with the acquisition and development of historic structures, including an award-winning project involving an historic rehabilitation adjoined by a newly constructed commercial/retail project that will also serve as the headquarters for an international company. He also has helped clients structure investment vehicles to utilize historic tax credits and multiple sources of equity and debt funding. Ron's practice has also involved multiple acquisitions structured to address Sharia financing.
As counsel to commercial banks, thrift institutions, and the former Resolution Trust Corporation, Ron has represented lenders in loan originations, including construction and term loans, mezzanine and conduit financings, and loan workouts, restructurings, and foreclosures, some of which have involved complex litigation and bankruptcy issues. Projects for which his clients have made secured loans include student housing, hotels, multifamily, mixed-use, office, and retail developments; several projects have involved unsubordinated ground leases.
Ron seeks collegiality in his interactions with clients and adverse parties, including counsel, with the expectation that this approach will result in a more efficient execution of these complex transactions.
Ron enjoys being part of a collaborative and cohesive firm, with attorneys and staff who work together to provide value. The team members he has worked with over the years have enthusiastically provided assistance, a quality he has come to expect from Seyfarth colleagues.
Having practiced for more than 40 years representing owners, operators, lenders, tenants, developers, and investors, Ron has gained the perspectives of most of the parties to a transaction. He uses those perspectives to the advantage of his clients in order to achieve the clients' goals and objectives. Clients appreciate that Ron understands their business, and his advice on how to achieve those objectives efficiently and successfully.
Ron has represented clients in real estate development, finance, lending, asset management, asset purchase and sales, commercial leasing, mixed-use development, and planned communities, including condominium ownership. As counsel on many successful projects, he has conceptualized and documented mixed-use office, retail, and residential projects. He has counseled developers in connection with the acquisition and development of historic structures, including an award-winning project involving an historic rehabilitation adjoined by a newly constructed commercial/retail project that will also serve as the headquarters for an international company. He also has helped clients structure investment vehicles to utilize historic tax credits and multiple sources of equity and debt funding. Ron's practice has also involved multiple acquisitions structured to address Sharia financing.
As counsel to commercial banks, thrift institutions, and the former Resolution Trust Corporation, Ron has represented lenders in loan originations, including construction and term loans, mezzanine and conduit financings, and loan workouts, restructurings, and foreclosures, some of which have involved complex litigation and bankruptcy issues. Projects for which his clients have made secured loans include student housing, hotels, multifamily, mixed-use, office, and retail developments; several projects have involved unsubordinated ground leases.
Ron seeks collegiality in his interactions with clients and adverse parties, including counsel, with the expectation that this approach will result in a more efficient execution of these complex transactions.
Ron enjoys being part of a collaborative and cohesive firm, with attorneys and staff who work together to provide value. The team members he has worked with over the years have enthusiastically provided assistance, a quality he has come to expect from Seyfarth colleagues.
- JD, The George Washington University Law School
- BA, The George Washington University
Degree with distinction
Phi Beta Kappa
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- Virginia
- US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit
- US District Court, District of Columbia
- Represented client in multiple Sharia-compliant transactions.
- Represented the District of Columbia in connection with City Center, a trophy mixed-use project developed on 9.4 acres in the East End.
- Represented developers in complex ground lease ground-up development and historic office property development.
Related News & Insights
-
Podcast
Oct 14, 2024
The Property Line: Financing Transit-Oriented Development With the DOT’s Build America Bureau
-
Firm News
08/15/2024
220 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2025
-
Legal Update
Aug 5, 2024
House Representatives Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Facilitate Residential Conversions of Buildings
-
Legal Update
Jun 28, 2024
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen Announces New Initiatives to Lower Housing Costs on Behalf of the Biden Administration
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.) for Real Estate Law (2007-2025)
- Recognized for Real Estate (District of Columbia) by Chambers USA (2009-2024)
- Named to the Washingtonian's Lawyer Lifetime Achievement list (2022)
- Recognized for Real Estate by The Legal 500 (Legalese Ltd.) (2011, 2020)
- "One of Washington’s Top Lawyers," Washingtonian (2004-2023)
- Peer-rated "AV Preeminent" for Highest Legal Ability and Ethical Standards, Martindale-Hubbell (2017)
- Listed among the "Best Lawyers" for Real Estate Law, Northern Virginia Magazine (2016)
- Selected as a Lawdragon 500 finalist (2007)
- District of Columbia Bar Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Section
- District of Columbia Building Industry Association former board member
- Mortgage Bankers Association of Metropolitan Washington former board member
- Urban Land Institute (Baltimore & ULI Washington TOD Product Council, 2024-present; Washington advisory board, 2006-2020; Annual Trends Conference chair, 2014-2016)
- Real Estate Roundtable (capital markets committee, 2017-present)
- Co-Author, “House Representatives Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Facilitate Residential Conversions of Buildings,” Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (August 5, 2024)
- Co-Author, “Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen Announces New Initiatives to Lower Housing Costs on Behalf of the Biden Administration,” Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (June 28, 2024)
- Author, "DC Sources New Revenue From Assignments of Long-Term Leases," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (June 27, 2024)
- Author, "DC Proposes Tax Abatement to Incentivize Conversion to Housing Development," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (February 7, 2024)
- Co-Author, "White House Implements Plans to Facilitate Office-to-Residential Conversions," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (December 8, 2023)
- Co-Author, "Effective as of July 1, 2023 the Commonwealth of Virginia Restricts Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (August 30, 2023)
- Co-Author, "Recordation and Transfer Tax Changes in Maryland and the District of Columbia," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (August 8, 2023)
- Co-Author, "Montgomery County, Maryland Adopts 6% Cap on Rent Increases," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (August 8, 2023)
- Co-Author, "Downtown DC’s Recovery: the District Government Hopes Incentives Will Help," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 5, 2022)
- Co-Author, "The District of Columbia’s Vaccine Mandate: What Businesses Need to Consider," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (January 24, 2022)
- Co-Author, "Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (2016-2024)
- Co-Author, "A Recap of Federal Loan Program Developments Affecting Commercial Real Estate," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 27, 2020)
- Co-Author, "FHFA and GSEs Issue Guidance on Assistance to Renters and Borrowers Impacted by COVID-19," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 25, 2020)
- Co-Author, "DC Recordation and Transfer Taxes Skyrocketing for Commercial Properties," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (July 25, 2019)
- Co-Author, "Does Your Lease Read like a Deed? Supreme Court of Virginia Weighs in on Execution Requirements for Most Leases in The Game Place, L.L.C. v. Fredericksburg 35, LLC," One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (June 22, 2018)
- Co-Author, "DC Proposed Regulations Modify Deed of Trust Recording Tax Exemptions," One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (November 29, 2017)
- “DC Court of Appeals Puts Deed of Trust Trustees on Notice: Trustees May Be Liable for Intentional Interference with Business Relations,” One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (August 30, 2012)
- Co-Author “Maryland Governor Signs Bill Taxing IDOTs,” One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 30, 2012)
- Co-Author, “Creditors Rights: Commercial Lenders Can Breathe Easier After In re Tousa Inc.,” BNA Bankruptcy Law Reporter (May 2011)
- Speaker, “The Property Line: Financing Transit-Oriented Development With the DOT’s Build America Bureau,” Podcast, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (October 14, 2024)
- Frequent guest on the podcast America’s Commercial Real Estate Show
- Co-Presenter, "The Property Line: Demystifying the Deed in Lieu," Podcast, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (July 6, 2023)
- Co-Speaker, "The Property Line: 2023 – A Year of Opportunity?," Podcast, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (March 20, 2023)
- Speaker, "The Property Line: The Need for Nimbleness in a Shifting Closing Landscape," Podcast, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (September 12, 2022)
- Speaker, The Property Line Podcast – Annual Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey Indicates Optimism for 2022 Despite Economic Challenges (March 14, 2022)
- Co-Presenter, "Subordination, Non-Disturbance, and Attornment Agreements: Drafting to Protect Lenders, Tenants, and Landlords," Strafford Webinar (September 9, 2021)
- Speaker, The Property Line Podcast - Annual Real Estate Market Sentiment Survey Indicates Optimistic Outlook for 2021 (March 1, 2021)
- Speaker, The Property Line Podcast - Special Edition: Essential Election Takeaways for CRE and 2021 Outlook (December 21, 2020)
- Co-Presenter, "Essential Election Takeaways for CRE and 2021 Outlook: Part 2: Impact on CRE Trends," Webinar, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (December 3, 2020)
- Co-Presenter, "Subordination, Non-Disturbance, and Attornment Agreements: Drafting to Protect Lenders, Tenants, and Landlords," Strafford Webinar (September 22, 2020)
- Co-Presenter, "Subordination, Non-Disturbance and Attornment Agreements in Commercial Leasing and Real Estate Finance," Lorman Webinar (May 16, 2019)
- "What It Takes: Mixed-Use Development in this Metro Area," 7th Annual Capital Region Real Estate Forum, presented by Washington Business Journal (October 26, 2011)
- "Capital Markets," 6th Annual Capital Region Real Estate Forum, presented by Washington Business Journal (October 13, 2010)
- Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Annual Ball executive committee (2004-2005)
"Key individuals in the practice include the 'extremely knowledgeable' Ron Gart, who heads the real estate team in Washington, DC." —From The Legal 500