John Condas helps clients procure the federal, state, regional, and local government approvals they need to develop their real estate projects. He has successfully led legal due diligence and entitlement teams in nearly 200 jurisdictions and federal, state and regional agencies for industrial, residential, mixed use, office, entertainment, self-storage, cannabis cultivation, and other projects throughout California.
Proactive and Practical
John takes a practical approach to help his clients meet their business objectives, efficiently solve environmental and land use challenges, and advance their projects with minimal delays. Equally important, he ensures that their permits are legally defensible to reduce the risk of lawsuits, in particular those based on challenges from environmental groups and others claiming that projects do not meet California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements.
For a national developer, he oversaw land use entitlement and environmental permitting due diligence and entitlements for its extensive assets throughout Southern California. Similarly, he successfully guided more than 150 projects in Southern and Central California through the entitlement process for the country’s third largest home construction company.
A former litigator, John regularly advises clients on litigation as a means for achieving their objectives in a timely and cost-effective manner. He also helps them devise strategies to defend lawsuits—for example when a labor union uses CEQA as a negotiation tactic—and proactively pursue legal action when necessary to rein in an over-reaching government agency.
Statewide Knowledge
John represents public REITs, industrial clients, private and public home builders and apartment developers, and other land developers in securing and defending land use and environmental permits across the state. He has provided entitlement due diligence and counseling for industrial and logistics projects totaling over 65 million square feet, helped home-building clients acquire more than 30,000 residential lots, and was involved in the two largest multiple species habitat plan sales to the Regional Conservation Authority in Riverside County.
Professional Involvement
John is a member of the Board of Directors of Great Ajax Corp., a NYSE-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) and served as the 2015 president of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) Inland Empire Chapter. John taught real estate law for 15 years in the University of Southern California’s MBA and Master of Real Estate Development programs and at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
MEMBERSHIPS
- National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), Inland Empire Chapter President (2015), Legislative Affairs Committee
- Lusk Center for Real Estate, University of Southern California, Member of Executive Committee
- Urban Land Institute
ACCOLADES
- Martindale-Hubbell A-V Preeminent Rating
- Selected for inclusion in Southern California Super Lawyers (2007 - 2013)
BAR ADMISSIONS
- California