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Mr. Romano began his legal career in 1976 in Rockland County, New York as an associate in a small general practice law firm. In 1984, he accepted a position as partner and general counsel to a real estate development and management firm in Hudson County, New Jersey. During this period, he obtained numerous HMDC and DEP approvals for developments in the Hackensack Meadowlands District and successfully negotiated scores of leases on behalf of tenants and landlords, including many of the country's major retail companies and mall developers.
In 1991, Mr. Romano joined a Jersey City law firm as a real estate attorney, overseeing an annual closing case load of over 300 residential properties throughout the State of New Jersey for a large national relocation and mortgage company. While there, Mr. Romano represented the property owner in the negotiation and administration of the construction contract, the construction and permanent loans, and the lease to the State of New Jersey for the 180,000 square foot State Office Building in Jersey City.
Joining that firm at the height of the real estate recession of the early 1990s, Mr. Romano acquired considerable experience with loan workouts, and he successfully negotiated settlements with many lenders as well as the RTC and the OTS on behalf of beleaguered borrowers.
After his firm merged with another in 1995, Mr. Romano's practice branched out significantly. He was actively involved in the first bulk sale of municipal tax sale certificates to investors in a $45 million collateralized transaction and then handled hundreds of tax sale foreclosure actions between 1995 and 1998 on behalf of the collateral servicer. One of these actions, involving one of the then largest aggregate tax sale certificate debts in the State, spawned the reported decision in 3085 Kennedy Realty Co. v. Tax Assessor of City of Jersey City 287 N.J. Super. 318, 671 A.2d 137 N.J. Super. A.D.,1996.
In 1998, Mr. Romano began a long-standing relationship with one of Hudson County's largest and most active residential rental property owners and managers, negotiating and closing on the simultaneous purchase and financing of 40 multi-family buildings containing approximately 800 units in their first transaction. This on-going relationship has encompassed multi-million dollar purchases, sales and financings involving well over 100 multi-family properties, including a $85 million purchase in 2006 from four entities owning an aggregate of 64 residential apartment buildings, an undertaking that encompassed negotiations for and closing of new financing, existing loan assumptions, defeasances and major national investor equity.
In 2004, after joining Connell Foley, Mr. Romano represented the first developer to successfully convert a century old Jersey City warehouse into modern condominium lofts. He represents a number of developers of new construction in establishing condominium ownership regimes. He also represents both borrowers and lenders in acquisition, construction, mezzanine and all other forms of real estate related loans.
While in law school, Mr. Romano served as an administrative aide in the New York Legislature, first to Assemblyman Harold Grune of Rockland County and later to State Senator Linda Winikow of Rockland County.
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