Shapiro Lifschitz & Schram represents the Bernstein Companies in $600M deal with Marriott International and Boston Properties

Steven H. Schram, co-president and managing principal of Shapiro Lifschitz & Schram, P.C., has led a team of attorneys representing the Bernstein Companies, one of the oldest commercial real estate firms in Washington, D.C., in a deal valued at $600 million. Marriott International, Inc., the world’s largest hotelier, announced on July 26 that it had officially signed agreements with developers Boston Properties and the Bernstein Companies for a new company headquarters and flagship hotel to be built in Bethesda, Md., just north of the Bethesda Metro Station. The $600 million development is slated for completion in 2022 and will include a 700,000-square-foot, 22-story headquarters building and a 230-room Marriott Hotel.

“This transaction was probably the largest, most complex, and most challenging transaction ever handled by the firm,” said Schram. “I am proud of the firm’s participation in this deal, not only from the standpoint of our legal representation, but because of the long, special relationship our firm has with the Bernstein Companies, a well-respected, multi-generational company. Shapiro Lifschitz & Schram is honored to be a part of this project, which will leave a significant legacy for the Bernstein Companies and its principals in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.”

Marni Lefkowitz Ahram, a member of the firm’s Real Estate and Business groups, assisted Schram with the lead and was praised by all parties for her role in the successful completion of the transaction. Other firm attorneys representing the Bernstein Companies in this matter include Ronald S. Shapiro, Robert A. Foster, Barry J. Fleishman and Barbara Anne (B.A.) Spignardo, as well as Ashleigh Mcfadden, a paralegal with the firm.