Richard J. Krainin

Client Work

Rick’s clients include nonprofit and for-profit organizations, institutional lenders and other commercial loan and finance participants. He works closely with owners, developers, architects, engineers, and financial and real estate advisors in the structuring, financing, implementation, and workout of development projects.

Rick represents clients in real estate acquisition, development, disposition, and leasing transactions including commercial office space leases, retail space leases, sale/lease-back, and equipment lease transactions. He is experienced in negotiating financing arrangements for owners and lenders, including construction loans, inter-creditor agreements, and take-out financing for complex real estate transactions.

Rick’s practice encompasses all types of financings for non-profit, public, and for-profit entities. He is involved in structuring complex public finance, project finance, public private partnerships (PPP) and commercial loan transactions. His areas of concentration are in the affordable, market rate, seniors and student housing, health care, education, PPPs, community development, cultural, and social services sectors. Rick heads the firm’s Nonprofit Finance group in the New York office.

Affordable, Market Rate, Seniors and Student Housing. Rick represents Fannie Mae in providing long-term financing for affordable and combined market rate/affordable (80/20) multi-family and seniors housing projects ranging from the rehabilitation of maintenance-deferred public housing projects into renovated affordable housing stock utilizing PPP ownership structures under HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversion program; to 100% affordable and affordable seniors housing projects involving real property tax abatements, low income housing tax credits, increased zoning benefits, and multiple levels of subsidies and loans; to large 80/20 and mixed-use projects both in primary and secondary market transactions. Rick represents for-profit and nonprofit owners in developing affordable, market rate, mixed-use housing and student residence facilities.

Health Care. Rick helps hospital clients finance and refinance their facilities. He has assisted hospital clients with financing replacement hospitals, medical offices, and other hospital facilities. He has assisted hospital clients with monetizing their assets, including the sale of non-core facilities and sale-leaseback of other hospital facilities. He has also assisted hospital clients in accounts receivable financings, workouts, grant funding, lines of credit, government and commercial loan transactions, and obtaining real property tax exemptions.

Education. Rick represents educational institutions including colleges, charter schools, and a consumer education organization in financing and refinancing their facilities. He represents nonprofit and for-profit clients in financing student housing and other facilities for universities and is involved in the leasing of college land, construction, financing, and management agreements entered into for such projects. Rick serves as underwriters’ counsel on public finance transactions in the education sector.

PPP Projects. Rick represents nonprofit and for-profit clients that develop, own, and operate facilities for nonprofits and public institutions. He co-led the launch of an interdisciplinary national PPP finance program for public and nonprofit institutions through the architectural/engineering/design community that was recognized by the Financial Times with a 2012 Innovative Law Firms award in the “Business of Law” category.

Community Development. Rick has served as bond counsel to a community development financial institution (CDFI) for four bond transactions totaling $430 million under the US Treasury Department CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, including the first ever such bond issuance under the program. Bond proceeds provide long-term financing for nonprofit CDFI lending in underserved communities.

Cultural and Social Service. Rick has been involved in acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, leasing, financing, and loan transactions for cultural and social service organizations. He has served as organization counsel, lender’s counsel, and credit enhancer’s counsel. One of Rick’s social service clients is the community partner in one of New York City’s largest redevelopment projects. Rick helped the client lease and subsequently acquire community facility space for nominal consideration in one of the project buildings.

Rick provides general corporate counsel and advice to for-profit and nonprofit clients. He counsels clients on business development, joint venture and commercial contractual activities, tax, corporate governance, and compliance issues, including matters relating to directors’ fiduciary responsibilities.

Rick was the principal draftsperson of legislation which created a mortgage insurance subsidiary of New York City Housing Development Corporation, terminated an existing mortgage insurer, and transferred the assets of the existing insurer to New York City.

Previous Work

Rick served in state government as counsel to the state deputy comptroller for New York City. Immediately before joining ArentFox Schiff, Rick was a partner in the real estate department at another prominent firm.

Professional Activities

Rick is a member of the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section and Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development. He is also a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers.

Publications, Presentations, & Recognitions

Rick has served as a moderator, speaker, and panelist at conferences, webinars, and symposia on real estate finance, governance, and tax issues involving nonprofit, health care, independent school, and public/private sector participants. Rick is recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for Public Finance Law (2024). He is also ranked by Chambers USA for New York, Real Estate: Finance (2021 – 2023) and is recommended in The Legal 500 US for Not-for-Profit Tax (2022 – 2023) and previously for Not-for-Profit (2016 – 2020). Rick co-heads ArentFox Schiff’s Public Finance Group and is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Group, each rated in the top tier nationally in the 2023 “Best Law Firms” rankings that are published by US News & World Report and Best Lawyers.

Life Beyond the Law

Rick is past co-President, Board of Directors of Residents Forward.