A CLOSER LOOK AT THE LAW
viability of the project. With respect to a troubled business,
there are unique issues that need to be addressed.
For instance, if there is a significant shift in the market for
a particular project due to regional factors, competitive
environment, or a change in the industry itself, such as
occurred during the recent recession, that presents a host
of entirely different concerns. It is one thing to fix project
problems, but another to fix business issues that may be
based upon uncontrollable external factors.
Accordingly, it is always advisable to have a backup plan to
address these concerns. For instance, for a condominium
project that confronts sales issues, can the project be
converted to a rental to otherwise sustain the investment?
The same would apply to other such real estate projects
where the proposed use may no longer be viable and
alternative uses need to be established.
"From an
immigration
standpoint, the
first priority is to
create jobs and then
maintain the at-
risk component of
the investment."
To the extent the project involves a non-real estate
business, the volatility of such business presents
additional risk factors that need to be addressed, such
as a restaurant operation whose concept is not viable
due to market conditions.
Again, the goal here is to have a plan that has built-in
flexibility to navigate these types of circumstances.
Given the fact that the EB-5 industry has expanded
greatly over time, it is only natural that there will be
more troubledtroubled projects that ariseand troubled
businesses in the future given the increase in volume of
projects being undertaken.
Therefore, the industry will need to address this process
by accessing professionals to assist in the process and
preserve the integrity of the investment from both an
immigration and financial aspect.
RONALD R. FIELDSTONE
Ronald R. Fieldstone is a partner at Saul
Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP and specializes
in corporate/securities and taxation law.
Since 2009, he has served as corporate
and securities counsel for multifaceted
industries involving EB-5 immigrant visa investor offerings. He
represents both developers and regional centers in EB-5 matters.
His legal practice includes the preparation of private placement
memoranda and related documents. Fieldstone frequently
lectures and authors in the EB-5 corporate and securities fields
for numerous government sponsored organizations, industry
trade groups and professional associations.
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