Craig Garbe is a seasoned corporate and commercial lawyer with a focus on transactions related to commercial real estate. He acts for a number of investment funds, real estate investment trusts, lenders and institutional investors on the largest and most complex acquisitions, dispositions, co-ownerships, financings, joint ventures and development projects in the country.
Craig is ranked and recognized by Chambers and Partners Canada, and is a leading lawyer repeatedly recommended in the Lexpert Canadian Legal Directory. Craig is frequently called upon to speak to the commercial real estate community, including at Toronto's annual LandPro real estate and development conference and at other industry events, and he is a regular publisher and contributor to industry platforms and forums.
Craig has been recognized numerous times in connection with his representation of the owners or financiers of many of Canada's landmark properties, including Toronto's Scotia Plaza, the Royal Bank Plaza, Brookfield Place, the Bay Adelaide Centre, Vancouver's Telus Garden, First Canadian Place, and the Aura Tower (Canada's tallest residential development). He acts regularly for buyers, sellers, and developers of significant residential, commercial, and industrial properties, and has specialized expertise in the acquisition, financing, and development of hotel and resort properties, shopping malls, industrial and logistics hubs and infrastructure projects.
Craig's client-focused approach brings a practical perspective to all types of joint venture developments and partnerships, with an emphasis on creating holding structures that balance both risks and opportunities, and Craig's years of experience dealing with complex title issues allow him to give pointed and pragmatic advice on any number of real property related matters. He assists clients in structuring innovative and efficient financing transactions (including mezzanine and participating debt structures), in organizing development projects and in creating the agreements that govern complicated mixed-use projects and condominium properties.
Craig is also an experienced casino and gaming regulatory lawyer, and has assisted clients across the country in negotiating the long-term operating agreements that govern their commercial casino gaming operations. Recently, he has acted for clients in connection with iGaming Ontario's privatization of online gaming in Ontario, and he has acted for a number of clients in connection with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation's Modernizing Land Based Gaming initiative which transformed the operation of physical casinos across Ontario. He regularly addresses complex gaming regulatory matters for clients from coast to coast, including in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.
In addition to Craig's experience with financing, acquiring, and selling real property, he also counsels clients in respect of complex land transfer tax and structuring issues, regularly acts for both landlords and tenants in commercial leasing matters and works with both lending and borrowing clients to complete significant offerings of commercial mortgage bonds.
Craig is a member of the Ontario Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association and the American Bar Association.