Kostas A. Poulakidas

Kostas is co-chair of the firm’s Public Finance and Economic Development practice. He focuses his practice on project and public finance and provides strategic advice related to private and public real estate projects, infrastructure projects, public-private partnerships, and has represented various government entities, private equity and investment groups, as well as business entities ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, often serving as their outside counsel or special project counsel.  Kostas enjoys leading, managing, and collaborating with project financing teams responsible for unique project financing structures to add value for clients through its legal financing structure.

Project Financing

• Negotiated and structured $62 million in economic development tax and financing for $240 million biodiesel facility.
• Counsel to a municipality in connection with $834 million in economic development incentives to a major U.S. automotive manufacturer.
• Developed strategy and negotiated $57.5 million economic development agreement for a $490 million alternative energy facility.
• Advised multinational civil and defense aerospace manufacturer in negotiating $23 million in economic development incentives.
• Structured real estate private equity funds for retail, commercial, and hotel acquisition and development.
• Structured 100% financing as bank counsel for a hotel project.
• Advised investment fund and real estate developers structure Qualified Opportunity Zone projects for hotel acquisition and construction financing.
• Advised municipality on strategy for attracting manufacturing company to relocate headquarters using various economic development and project financing options.
• Advised manufacturer in negotiating economic development incentive package, including personal property abatement, $1.5 million in economic development tax increment bonds and $13 million of tax-exempt bonds.
• Represented pharmaceutical manufacturer in negotiating $1.2 million in local and state economic development incentives, $8 million in tax increment financing support and $45 million in tax-exempt project financing.
• Represented manufacturing company in negotiating brownfield redevelopment and property acquisition using tax increment financing and economic development incentives.

Public Finance

• Bond counsel for $400 million in air quality development revenue funding bonds for a publicly traded energy company.
• Bond counsel for $67 million state finance authority environmental refunding bonds.
• Bond counsel for tax increment financing of a wide range of economic development projects.
• Served as bond counsel on taxable and tax-exempt bond structure for retail.
• Underwriter’s counsel for $85 million capital facilities lease appropriation bonds.
• Underwriter’s counsel for $95 million school building corporation refunding bonds.
• Bond counsel on numerous municipal general obligation, revenue, public improvement, infrastructure, utility, storm water and refunding bonds.

• Moderator, “Opportunity Zones & Economic Development Project Financing,” National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) Workshop, Chicago, Ill., Oct. 18, 2023.
• Moderator & Speaker, “Qualified Opportunity Zones and Economic Development Project Financing,” National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) Workshop, Chicago, Ill., Oct. 13, 2022.
• Panel Moderator & Speaker, Opportunity Zone Expo, Phoenix, Arizona, Oct. 3, 2022.
• Moderator, “Community Redevelopment with Opportunity Zones, Historic, New Markets, Low-Income Housing, Energy Tax Credits, and Other Incentives” National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) Workshop, Oct. 15, 2021.
• Speaker, “Federal Recovery Funds,” Indiana Economic Development Association (IEDA) Industry Outlook Conference, Aug. 30, 2021.
• Panel moderator, “The Rising Trend of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) and Investing in Business Entities and its Impact on Opportunity Zone Transactions,” Opportunity Zones Expo, July 15, 2021.
• Speaker, “Optimizing Real Estate Investments,” 1% Growth Acceleration Summit, Oct. 29, 2020.
• Publication, “Opportunity Zones: What Investors Need to Know,” Crain’s Chicago Business, Sept. 30, 2019.
• Panel moderator, “Investment Primer for Family Offices,” Opportunity Zones Forum (Midwest), Chicago, Sept. 19, 2019.
• Speaker, “Opportunity Zones,” Municipal Finance Officers Association 2019 Meeting #2, July 16, 2019.
• Panel moderator, “Investments that Matter: How Impactful Development Can Incorporate CRA, Workforce, Affordable Housing with Opportunity Zones and Other Private-Public Partnerships (P3s),” 2019 Opportunity Zone Expo Las Vegas, May 9-10, 2019.
• Panelist, “Spotlight on Commercial and Industrial Redevelopment,” Regional Economic Diversification Summit, sponsored by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) on May 1, 2019.
• Quoted, Inside Indiana Business article “Indiana Continues to Push Opportunity Zones,” March 14, 2019.
• Panelist, “Jumpstarting Communities with Investment – A Detailed Discussion about Opportunity Zones,” Indiana Construction Roundtable, March 14, 2019.
• Panelist, “Investment Panel 4 – When to Head Out: Understanding your Fund(s) and Exit Strategies,” Opportunity Zone Expo, Los Angeles, Calif., Jan. 25, 2019.
• Moderator, “Making the Most of EB-5 in Ohio,” CDFA Ohio Conference, Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 7, 2017.
• Speaker, “Structuring the Deal,” Chicago Urban League and Angel Resource Institute’s (ARI) Angel Investor Overview, Chicago, Ill., May 25, 2016.