Cynthia B. Keliher | McCarter & English, LLP

Clients say she is “brilliant – a wonderful negotiator who really knows her business. She is very dedicated, of very high intelligence, and understands the business side more than the typical attorney.”—Chambers USA

Public and private real estate developers, owners, and landlords and tenants seek out Cynthia Keliher for her leadership in the commercial real estate market. From headquarters deals to data center leases to major city development projects, Cynthia finds ways to close transactions while meeting clients’ business goals. Co-chair of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group and a member of the firm’s Executive and Compensation Committees, Cynthia focuses a great deal of her practice on leasing, representing landlords and tenants in complex ground, retail, office, headquarters, and data center leases. Her work also includes advising corporations on their global leasing portfolios.

Cynthia represents universities and state agencies in negotiating complex air rights and ground leases, acquisitions and dispositions, and site agreements important to advance significant city and state developments and expansion projects. Her prominent presence in such projects led to her being appointed to state and local governmental committees, including the Blue Ribbon Panel for Open Space Protection to help set priorities for state land protection programs and the Strategic Development Study Committee for the Boston Extension Portion of the Turnpike Air Rights Development.

Cynthia is very active in the commercial real estate sector. She is the immediate past President of the New England Chapter of CoreNet Global, an association of more than 10,000 corporate real estate professionals, and a past president of New England Women in Real Estate, a more than 400-member, non-profit organization promoting advancement of women within the commercial real estate industry.

Cynthia is co-chair of McCarter’s Women’s Initiative Steering Committee, which presides over the policies that have led to McCarter receiving Gold Standard Certification from the Women in Law Empowerment Forum for seven of the last eight years. A strong supporter of community programs, Cynthia has volunteered at Boston Children’s Hospital, been a member of The Jimmy Fund Council of Greater Boston since 1989, and is a former Vice President of The Jimmy Fund Council. Cynthia, who is passionate about the importance of education, was recently tapped by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to serve on the Board of Trustees of Bunker Hill Community College.

Negotiated a build-to-suit lease for a technology company’s 145,000-square-foot regional Texas headquarters building and parking garage. In addition to handling the headquarters lease, we negotiated multiple cross-easements with abutting property owners, park association restriction agreements, and governmental incentives. McCarter was part of CoreNet Global New England’s 2019 team recipient of its inaugural Best New Workplace Outside of New England Award.

Negotiated for a major state public authority a ground lease and development agreement and assisted the public authority with procurement and construction plans related to a major Boston convention center hotel project.

Represented a major Boston university in handling permitting and negotiating a ground lease and construction agreement for a state of the art boathouse.

Represented a major state public authority in negotiating a long-term air rights lease governing the development of Phase II of Fenway Center, an estimated $1 billion mixed-use development over the Massachusetts Turnpike in the Fenway section of Boston that has been in the works for more than 10 years. The transformative air rights project required negotiations of highly complex arrangements and is one of the largest air rights project since Copley Place was built in the 1980s. Phase II includes a 90,000-square-foot air-rights deck to be built over the Turnpike and a nearly one million-square-foot tower that will house life-science tenants built atop the deck. We also handled negotiations related to Fenway Center’s Phase I, which includes a 312-unit apartment building built adjacent to a commuter rail station.

Negotiated two leases for a large technology company’s 600,000-square-foot, two-building headquarters in the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts and advise on the company’s global leasing portfolio.