Cecilia I. Lassiter, Chair of the Sills Cummis & Gross State and Local Incentives Law Practice, focuses on state and local public incentives and real estate matters, with a particular emphasis on redevelopment, zoning and land use. Ms. Lassiter has extensive experience in redevelopment matters, including the designation of areas in need of redevelopment or areas in need of rehabilitation, and the negotiation and preparation of complex redevelopment agreements, purchase and sale agreements, easements, licenses, lease agreements and occupancy agreements. Ms. Lassiter has worked on several large-scale mixed-use redevelopment projects throughout the state of New Jersey, including 1888 Studios in Bayonne, which will be the largest film studio in the Northeast containing 1.5 million square feet on 74 acres; ON3 Campus in Nutley and Clifton, a mixed-use development on 120 acres with state-of-the-art lab, research and office space as well as residential, retail and entertainment spaces encompassing the true definition of live-work-play; and BellWorks in Holmdel, a 2 million square foot facility that has become a hub for tech companies containing innovative retail and entertainment spaces. Ms. Lassiter has extensive experience in the Grow NJ Program and its successor the Emerge Program, and has been successful in obtaining several multimillion-dollar tax credits awards for clients in both programs. In addition, she has experience in Garden State Growth Zones PILOTs, Long Term Tax Exemptions PILOTs, Redevelopment Area Bonds, and the Aspire Program.
Ms. Lassiter currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Rutgers Center for Real Estate, the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for University Hospital, the Board of Directors of the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network Foundation, and the Board of Trustees of the NJ Sharing Network.