Harry O. Cook

Biography

Mr. Cook is known for his practical problem solving approach to complex real estate and financing matters. Throughout his career he has worked on a number of transactions requiring novel solutions, many of which have become industry standards.

Over the years he has been involved in all aspects of real estate including: resort development, structuring of acquisitions, the permitting process at the federal and local level, structuring real estate joint ventures, planning timeshare, condominium, single-family and lot development programs, creation of protective covenants for resort communities, financing for acquisitions and construction, including AFICA bond offerings, and preparation and negotiation of construction contracts.

He has worked on conceptualizing and drafting a number of laws and regulations dealing with incentives for the development of the Tourism industry such as the The Tourism Industry Support Act of 2016, the Puerto Rico Development Act of 1993, the Timeshare and Vacation Club Act of 1988 and the Tourism Development Act of 2010. He also had a major role on the conceptualization and drafting of the Puerto Rico Film Incentive Act.

Mr. Cook is ranked as one of Puerto Rico’s Leading Attorneys in the Real Estate field by the renowned international publication Chambers & Partners in both its Global and its Latin America Guides. He is also ranked as a Highly Regarded attorney in Banking, Capital Markets and M&A by IFLR1000, the international guide to the world's leading financial and corporate law firms. Mr. Cook is also ranked in the Real Estate Law field of The Best Lawyers in Puerto Rico guide.

He is the Chairman of the Raiders Baseball Academy, a non-profit organization that develops junior players to play collegiate baseball in the USA.

Representative Transactions

The following is a brief summary of some of his accomplishments and representative transactions:

• Devised and implemented a model for a major real estate transaction that combined all the tax, investment and financing incentives available for tourism development. This model developed by Mr. Cook is still in use in Puerto Rico.
• Lead counsel for the development/redevelopment, financing and governance of Dorado Beach, Palmas del Mar, Grand Reserve, W Vieques, Costa Caribe and Rio Mar resorts.
• Lead counsel for the planning, development, financing, and operation of a portfolio of seven select service hotels, two casinos, and Puerto Rico’s largest urban entertainment center.
• Lead counsel in the negotiations with Mandarin Oriental for the development and management of the property in Barcelona.
• Implemented a novel financing structure for the redevelopment of the Dorado Beach Hotel. This novel model is currently being used for other similar transactions.
• Lead counsel to SMG for the first contract to be signed by the Puerto Rican government for the private administration of a public facility, in this case, the Coliseo de Puerto Rico.
• Oversaw the registration in New York of a Puerto Rican real estate project. He advises other Puerto Rican clients on how to market residential projects in Europe, Latin America and the USA.
• Lead counsel for the creation of a consortium for the economic and tourist development of Vieques and Culebra island municipalities in Puerto Rico.
• Real Estate counsel in the development of the Puente Teodoro Moscoso, the first private toll road in Puerto Rico and the United States.
• Co-creator of the Film Industry Act, a major economic development strategy of Governor Luis Fortuño’s administration to create a new industry in the island.
• Real Estate counsel to a Puerto Rican entrepreneur in the development of Puerto Rico’s first wind farm.

Practices

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