John Mays is a managing partner of the firm.  He began his career as the general counsel of a Chicago-based home builder.  His practice now focuses on real estate development with emphasis on land use, development, and construction.  He represents clients in all phases of the development process, from the acquisition, zoning, financing, and construction of buildings and projects through their ultimate leasing or disposition.  His broad experience representing owners, lenders and contractors allows him to craft both practical and legal solutions to the challenges facing clients in the development and construction areas.

John has spoken on growth strategies before the American Planning Association and he has been an instructor at the Urban Land Institute's National Real Estate School and at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  He is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of the John Marshall Law School where he lectures on land use and development issues.  He served as Chair of a two-day multidisciplinary advisory panel studying the potential redevelopment of Archer Avenue in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood. 

John is a past Chair of the Urban Land Institute's 1200-member Chicago District Council and nationally, serves on ULI's Residential Neighborhood Development Council.  He is a member of ULI's Board of Directors in Chicago and its Governance Committee.  John has chaired several Urban Land Institute panels assisting communities in and surrounding Chicago. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the School and Institute of Real Estate, Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration, Roosevelt University, and is a member of Lambda Alpha International, the Honorary Society for the Advancement of Land Economics. 

John's additional professional affiliations include the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago, the National Association of Home Builders Legal  Action Network for Development Strategies Committee and the American Bar Association's Forum on the Construction Industry.  

John has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer from 2008 through 2010. 

Recent Representative Matters

• Counsel for Regional and National Homebuilders in the acquisition, entitlement, and development of numerous communities throughout Northern Illinois.
• Counsel for major Regional Developer of Industrial, Office and Research Parks in leasing, disposition of major properties, and the acquisition, entitlement and development of properties including a 600-acre development in Northwestern Illinois.
• Representation of clients in loan and mezzanine funding negotiations, including complex construction loan agreements and investment vehicles.  
• Creation of multiple Homeowner Associations, Community Associations and Condominiums throughout the Chicago Area, including the creation of a parking garage condominium in downtown Chicago.
• Negotiation of complex construction contracts for multiple clients.

Presentations

• The Development Approval Process in Illinois - Surviving the Public Hearing Process, March 2008
• The Development Approval Process in Illinois - Navigating the Development Process, October 2007
• Navigating the Development Approval Process - Techniques for Getting the Most Out of Your Land, Midwest Builders Show® and Conference, March 2007

Professional and Civic Affiliations

• Urban Land Institute, member
• Urban Land Institute - Chicago District Council, Past Chair and current member of its Board of Directors and the Board's Governance Committee
• Advisory Board of the School and Institute of Real Estate, Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration, Roosevelt University
• The National Association of Home Builders Legal Action Network for Development Strategies Committee
• American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry
• Illinois Institute for Local Government Law

Articles

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News

• Top 2007 SSA Bond Deal
• John Mays Chaired Panel of Experts Studying the Revitalization of the Bridgeport Neighborhood Corridor