Ed Bullard is a member of the Real Estate, Banking & Financial Services, Corporate Transactions, and Agribusiness & Food Safety practice areas of SHB's Corporate Law Division.

He is experienced in all aspects of real estate development, including negotiating and contracting for land acquisition or long term leases; due diligence pursuant to acquisition contracts and/or leases; title insurance claims and defenses; government inducements and incentives; land use issues (rezoning, special and conditional use permits, variances, platting, site plan approval and other governmental approvals); architects, construction and management agreements and contracts; and office and retail leasing and management.

In both good and bad economic times, Mr. Bullard's practice includes financing transactions secured by real estate, including loan documentation, restructuring, work-outs, and loan enforcement actions relating to construction, mini-perm and permanent loans.

Mr. Bullard represents national real estate developers in connection with multi-family residential housing, suite hotel and retail shopping center projects in Kansas, Missouri, Georgia and Texas, and has assisted with megaplex movie theatre projects nationally and internationally. He has handled land acquisition, due diligence issues, construction and permanent loans, occupancy leases, construction issues and claims, and the prosecution of title insurance claims.

Mr. Bullard’s experience in land use planning and development include the following kinds of projects: retail, office and industrial developments; communications towers and facilities (Missouri and Kansas); institutional facility expansion; solid waste landfill expansions and greenfield projects; river boat gaming projects statewide; new concrete production facility involving special use permits for surface and deep mining operations; multi-family residential and suite hotels; megaplex movie theatres; and wind farm developments.

Recent projects include serving as lead transaction counsel in connection with:

• tenant's counsel in connection with negotiation of office leases in Kansas City, Miami and San Francisco, and retail leases in Kansas and Missouri;
• borrower's counsel in connection with defense and settlement of attempted enforcement of loans;
• tenant's counsel in connection with Missouri federal court action prosecuting claims relating to tenant finish allowance;
• defense of industrial tenant in connection with Kansas state court action defending against claimed damages at lease turnover;
• counsel to insureds in connection with claims under title insurance policies;
• lender's counsel in connection with lender's participating in Fannie Mae multi-family flow loan program;
• local acquisition and zoning counsel in connection with multiple wind energy projects in Kansas and Missouri;
• lender's counsel in connection with restructuring and enforcement of real estate and asset based financing;
• lender's counsel in connection with the sale of 34 non-residential loans secured by real estate in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa;
• lender's counsel on construction and mini-perm loans on real estate projects in Missouri and Kansas involving office buildings and hotel properties;
• co-counsel in connection with multi-site refranchise transactions involving retail properties in California and Nevada;
• development of an industrial auction facility by an international developer, including a development agreement with the host city that provides for bond financing of public improvements pursuant to a neighborhood improvement district (NID);
• proposed development of an ethanol facility in the Kansas City region, including industrial revenue bond financing, annexation issues and negotiation of city and state incentives;
• joint venture for the development by a national real estate investment trust and a local developer of a retail shopping center in Brownsville, Texas, including negotiation of the joint venture agreement, loans by the REIT to the JV and closing of the acquisition of multiple parcels in an assemblage of parcels;
• obtained zoning approvals in connection with a phased wind farm development on 24,000 acres in Ford County, Kansas;
• contested loan enforcement actions on behalf of a leading credit union making loans in Missouri and Kansas;
• acquisition, financing, zoning and development of numerous multi-family communities and mixed use developments in Kansas, Missouri and Georgia;
• a major master synthetic lease financing program to provide off balance sheet short term construction financing for megaplex theatre and entertainment center developments;
• the public offering of shares in a real estate investment trust formed primarily to acquire and to lease back 17 megaplex theatre centers developed by a major movie exhibitor (including due diligence, all filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, negotiation of sale, transfer and lease documents and subsequent closings);
• leases in connection with megaplex theatre developments in Canada, France, Sweden, Austria and Spain;
• assisted a provider of PCS wireless communications services in obtaining zoning approvals for 40+ antenna facilities in 14 cities in seven counties in the Kansas City major trading area;
• counsel to title insurance underwriters in connection with defense of title claims.

Mr. Bullard frequently provides local counsel assistance in connection with construction, bridge and permanent loan transactions in Missouri and Kansas.

Recent Publications

Heartland Real Estate Business Magazine, March 2010, participant in "Midwest Legal Roundtable."

Scotsman Guide, June 2009, "Q&A." View

The Real Estate Finance Journal, Winter 2007, "The As-Is Real Estate Contract: Who Pays the Piper Between Execution and Closing?."

Ingram's, November 2007, "Developers Employ Creative Strategies to Stay in the Retail Game."

Selected for Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012

Martindale Hubbell AV Rating

Fellow, Regent (2000-present), Secretary (2006), Treasurer (2007), President-Elect (2008), President (2009), and Chair of Executive Committee (2010): American College of Mortgage Attorneys

International Council of Shopping Centers

American Bar Association

The Missouri Bar

Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association

Kansas City Tomorrow Program, Year IV

Chancellor, Christ Church Anglican

Mr. Bullard is admitted to practice before the state court of Missouri.

1973   J.D., cum laude, Indiana University

1970   B.A., Indiana University