Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP is honored in the Real Estate and Construction category by The Legal 500, an online international law firm referral source.  The firm is recognized as a leader in land use and zoning in the Northern California region.

Described as having “extensive experience in advising a sophisticated and diverse client base on major public and private development projects in the Bay Area,” Coblentz is one of only eight Northern California firms recognized by The Legal 500 for outstanding performance in this area.

Partners Pamela Duffy and Harry O’Brien also received individual recognition.  Duffy was praised as being “great for land use work, focusing in particular on transactions for large private and public clients.”  O’Brien, described as “very capable” and an “effective negotiator,” was commended for providing “practical business advice” and “an immediate response to critical issues.”

The firm’s Real Estate and Land Use Practice Group has worked on some of the largest commercial and residential development projects and transactions in Northern California.  San Francisco projects include: the new California Academy of Sciences building, the San Francisco 49ers stadium, the San Francisco Giant’s AT&T Park, the Yerba Buena Gardens Community Center, the Westfield San Francisco Centre, Sutter Health/California Pacific Medical Center hospital rebuilding projects, Catellus Development Corporation’s 300-acre Mission Bay project, The Gap’s development of its 540,000-square-foot headquarters, and a major new $450 million energy transmission project under the San Francisco Bay.  Outside of San Francisco, the firm has handled the Tejon Ranch Company’s land conservation agreement, a 152-acre Napa Pipe residential redevelopment project in Napa County, and eBay Inc.’s major campus expansion in San Jose.

About The Legal 500

Published for more than 20 years, The Legal 500 Series provides the most comprehensive worldwide coverage currently available on legal services providers, in more than 100 countries.  Used by commercial and private clients, corporate counsel, CEOs, FDs and professional advisers – as well as by other referrers of work both nationally and internationally – the series is widely regarded as offering the definitive judgment of law firm capabilities.  For more information on The Legal 500 Series, visit www.legal500.com.

William H. Orrick III was appointed as counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.  In an interview, Orrick told the The Recorder that he wanted a job in the new administration.  Orrick said, “I contacted anybody I could think of to say:  Let me serve.”

CPDB congratulates clients, California Academy of Science and Forest City’s Westfield San Francisco Centre as finalists for the 2009 Urban Land Institute’s Awards for Excellence.

Press Release from ULI

SUCCESS DESPITE THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN: ULI ANNOUNCES TEN WINNERS FOR THE 2009 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE: THE AMERICAS COMPETITION; HERITAGE AWARD WINNER ALSO SELECTED

For more information, contact Trisha Riggs at 202/624-7086 or email: priggs@uli.org

ATLANTA (April 24, 2009)

Ten outstanding developments from the Americas have been selected as winners of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Awards for Excellence: The Americas competition, along with one winner of the Institute’s prestigious Heritage Award. The winners of the awards competition, widely recognized as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program, were announced at ULI’s Spring Council Forum in Atlanta.

The competition is part of the Institute’s Awards for Excellence program, established in 1979, which is based on ULI’s guiding principle of recognizing best practice through the awards to promote better land use and development. ULI’s Awards for Excellence recognize the full development process of a project, not just its architecture or design. The criteria for the awards include leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public/private partnership, environmental protection and enhancement, response to societal needs, and financial viability.

The Heritage Award, also announced this year, is not an annual award, but rather is bestowed periodically to developments that have demonstrated industry excellence and made substantial contributions to the greater community’s well-being for at least 25 years.

The Heritage Award winner is the Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore Maryland. The ten Awards for Excellence winners are: California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco; Comcast Center, Philadelphia; The Cork Factory Loft Apartments, Pittsburgh; Devries Place Senior Apartments, Milpitas, Calif.; Heifer International World Headquarters; Little Rock, Ark.; Kansas City Power and Light District, Kansas City, Mo.; Kierland Commons, Scottsdale, Ariz.; The RISE, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; UniverCity, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; and West Chelsea/High Line Rezoning Plan, New York City.

Over the years, the Awards for Excellence program has evolved from recognition of one development in North America to an international competition with multiple winners. The ULI Awards for Excellence: Europe was added in 2004, followed by the ULI Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific and the Global Awards in 2005. Throughout the program’s history, all types of projects have been recognized for their excellence, including office, residential, recreational, urban/mixed-use, industrial/office park, commercial/retail, new community, rehabilitation, and public projects and programs.

The 2009 Awards for Excellence: The Americas winners and the Heritage Award winner were selected by a jury of renowned land use development and design experts: Jury chairman Marilee A. Utter, president, Citiventure Associates, LLC, Denver; Douglas W. Betz, managing partner, Woolpert LLP, Dayton, Ohio; Thomas E. Cody, principal, ProjectPDX, Portland, Ore.; James J. Curtis, managing partner, Bristol Group, Inc., San Francisco;  Richard M. Gollis, principal, The Concord Group, LLC, Newport Beach, Calif.; Gary A. Hack, professor of urban design, University of Pennsylvania, School of Design, Philadelphia; William H. Kreager, principal, Mithun Architects + Designers + Planners, Seattle; Terry R. Montesi, president and chief executive officer, Trademark Property Company, Fort Worth, Texas; J. Michael Pitchford, president and chief executive officer, Community Preservation and Development Corporation, Washington, D.C.; Rebecca R. Zimmermann, principal, Design Workshop, Inc., Denver.

The 2009 winners were selected from more than 140 entries. The jury was challenged by the large number of applications and the high quality of the projects, which struck the judges as particularly significant in the current economic environment.

According to Jury Chairman Utter, the awards winners illustrate that well-designed, well-built projects can thrive even in dark economic times. “These are great examples of success that showcase creativity, innovation, and long-term thinking,” Utter said. “Perhaps now more than ever, the ULI Awards for Excellence program reminds us of the key difference that responsible land use development can make, in terms of longevity and overall community sustainability.”

More information about ULI’s Awards for Excellence program is at www.uli.org/awardsandcompetitions.

About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org) is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 40,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.