Kott, Brian J.

After 22 years in the real estate business, Brian Kott returned to the practice of law in 1998.  Active in the areas of both real estate and public law, he currently chairs the municipal and corporate groups at Lewis & Munday. He works extensively with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, the City of Detroit Downtown Development Authority, the Economic Development Corporation of the City of Detroit and HP Devco Inc. He has been involved in many projects that combine his legal expertise with his practical understanding of the economic development process. He has represented the various City of Detroit related agencies in transactions relating to the most of the economic activities that have taken place in the City over the past ten years. These include: 1) the relocation of the Compuware's world headquarters into downtown Detroit; 2) the rehabilitation of the of the Book Cadillac Hotel, a $186 million project; 3) the creation of the I-94 Industrial Park, 189 acre industrial redevelopment project; 4) the Jefferson Village residential project consisting of the development of approximately 400 new home sites within the City of Detroit; 5) negotiation of the development agreement for the rehabilitation of the Uniroyal Site, a 43 acre environmentally challenged former industrial site on the Detroit River into a mixed residential commercial development; 6) the negotiation of a development agreement with Rock Financial Corporation to relocate its world headquarters into downtown Detroit. Mr. Kott represents his clients in the negotiation, administration, closing, and implementation of these and many similar transactions. He also advises his clients on the meaning and interpretation of the Michigan statutes pursuant to which they are formed.

Following his graduation from law school, Mr. Kott served as a pre-hearing attorney with Michigan Court of Appeals and then entered private practice in metropolitan Detroit. In 1976, he left the practice of law to enter the real estate business. During that time, he served as general counsel to a national syndicator of real estate investments, as vice president of asset management to another and was vice president of property management for a regional developer of apartments. In those capacities he acquired extensive experience negotiating and structuring transactions of all types, including negotiation and drafting of purchase agreements, leases and other transactional documents. He also gained extensive experience in the acquisition, development and management of office buildings, shopping centers, apartments, industrial properties and vacant land.

He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan. He has served as president of the Detroit Chapter of the American Jewish Committee and currently sits on the national legal and church/state committees of that organization. He is also currently a trustee of the Downtown Detroit Partnership.