Real Estate Development Chair at Nutter Receives the 2023 Real Estate Attorney of the Year Award
BOSTON- With a reputation of being innovative, highly responsive, and a practical advisor, Marianne Ajemian, the Real Estate Department chair and attorney at Nutter, has been a pioneer with over 30 years of experience advising local and national clients in complex transactions.
Ajemian was the first woman to serve on the firm’s Management Committee, a role she held for nine years. Under her leadership, Nutter’s preeminent real estate practice has represented clients on transactions involving properties located in almost every state. In 2022 alone, Nutter’s national real estate practice managed 310+ commercial property acquisitions and dispositions; oversaw the permitting for 195+ real estate developments; and handled 230+ real estate loans valued at over $9 billion.
With a practice focused on the representation of clients locally and nationally in complex transactional matters, Ajemian represents financing institutions, real estate investment funds, developers, real estate investors and advisors, pension fund advisors and their institutional investors, REITs, healthcare and senior housing companies, and nonprofit institutions.
In addition, Ajemian advises clients on all aspects of commercial real estate acquisitions, development, dispositions, and leasing involving a broad range of projects, including mixed-use and transit-oriented developments, office buildings, life sciences projects, industrial properties, multi-family housing projects, hotels, restaurants, and institutional uses.
Her ability to reduce complex matters to the sum of their parts has made her an effective communicator, educator, and pivotal team leader. She is a problem solver who can develop a strategy, build consensus, energize her team, oversee the effective implementation of a plan, and get results. Her combination of precise legal and drafting skills, while also providing effective counsel on business issues, is a combination of skills that is not easy to find. Even in the most contentious negotiations, Ajemian is able to set aside the emotional element, focus on core principals, and propose creative solutions that work for all of the parties involved in the transaction.
Ajemian is consistently recognized nationally and locally in the real estate industry. She is a Fellow in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, a past president of the Commercial Real Estate Women Network (CREW Network), a past president of CREW Boston and a member of the Real Estate Finance Association, NAIOP Massachusetts, the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”), the Boston ULI District Council, and one of ULI’s Urban Development and Mixed-Use Product Councils.
Nutter’s Real Estate Department provides sophisticated legal counsel to and pragmatic solutions for a roster of public and private real estate clients that range from developers, lenders, and investors to hospitals, universities, cultural institutions, and governmental agencies. Ajemian leads a team with broad experience covering real estate transactional and finance work, as well as related entitlement, land use, and environmental matters.
Nutter advises real estate clients through critical business and investment decisions from acquisition, permitting, and development–to leasing, financing, and disposition. On both a regional and national basis, Nutter’s real estate team has demonstrated its strength, skill, and tenacity, achieving desirable, strategic results for its real estate clients. In 2022 alone, Nutter:
- Managed 310+ commercial property acquisitions and dispositions involving approximately 30 million square feet
- Worked on 200+ real estate leases, of all asset classes, totaling approximately 6 million square feet
- Oversaw the permitting for 195+ real estate developments of approximately 20 million square feet
- Handled 230+ real estate loans valued at over $9 billion
Under Ajemian’s leadership, Nutter frequently advises clients on some of the most high-profile real estate transactions in the Greater Boston area. Notable recent on-going projects include the Parcel K development in Boston’s Seaport District; the Enterprise Research Campus in Allston; Parcel H Seaport Circle; 10 World Trade in the Seaport; 101 South Street and 15 McGrath Highway in Somerville; and Seaport Parcel U.
When asked about the firm’s growth plans, Ajemian had this to say: “The guiding principles of Nutter’s growth strategy are to be disciplined, committed, and opportunistic. We respect the trust that clients place in us, and our culture is one that honors that trust. Our focus remains on our core practice areas, which include real estate, corporate, private client, litigation, labor, employment and benefits, and intellectual property. As the legal environment evolves, we analyze how to best maximize opportunities to add to our deep bench in these key practice areas. Our approach is creative and dynamic, as we continue to strengthen and expand our teams in Boston and New York. We prioritize retaining and recruiting talented and dedicated attorneys who enjoy collaborating to advance our clients’ objectives, while fostering a strong culture of excellence and inclusivity.”
