Jorge M. Ruiz-Montilla

Biography

Mr. Ruiz-Montilla’s practice includes real estate, hospitality, tourism incentives, finance, corporate and mergers and acquisitions.

Over the years he has been involved in many aspects of real estate, hospitality and corporate transactions, including resort and commercial developments, structuring of corporate acquisitions, planning and structuring timeshare, condo-hotel and condominium projects, negotiating lease agreements for all types of commercial developments, and the creation of governance structures for resort communities.

He has worked as real estate counsel in a number of renewable energy projects in Puerto Rico, including Puerto Rico’s first wind farm, and has extensive experience in real estate matters related to the petroleum industry’s retail operations.

Mr. Ruiz-Montilla acts as worldwide counsel for the world's leading zip-line operator, providing advice on its global expansion in jurisdictions such as Puerto Rico, Spain and Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.

He has participated in the drafting a number of laws and regulations providing incentives for the tourism and film industries in Puerto Rico, including the Puerto Rico Tourism Development Act of 2010.

Mr. Ruiz-Montilla is ranked as one of Puerto Rico’s Leading Attorneys in the Real Estate field by Chambers & Partners in both its Global and its Latin America Guides and by Legal 500. He is also ranked in in both the Hospitality and Tourism Law and the Real Estate Law fields of the Best Lawyers in Puerto Rico guide.

He is Treasurer and Member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Coalition for Puerto Rico, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, which aims to provide legal assistance to non-profit organizations throughout Puerto Rico. He is also the legal counsel to the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico Construction Materials Merchants Association, a non-profit organization representing manufacturers, distributors and retailers of construction materials. For over five years, he served as Treasurer and Member of the Board of Directors of the Ricky Martin Foundation, and Co-Chair of Libertad, the Foundation's main fundraising event in Puerto Rico.

Representative Transactions

Some of his representative transactions include:

• Acquisition and financing of four shopping centers containing approximately 600,000 square feet of retail space.
• Acquisition of Industrial Rubber & Mechanics, Inc. by Kaman Industrial Technologies Corporation.
• Stock purchase of Sunbay Marina, Inc.
• Acquisition, development, and financing of the following hospitality projects: Dorado Beach Resort, Coco Beach Resort, Coco Beach Golf & Country Club, Costa Caribe Ponce Hilton Resort, Condado Vanderbilt, La Concha and the W Vieques Resort.
• Master planning, financing and development of the Dorado Beach Resort luxury real estate projects including East Beach Residences, West Beach Beachfront Residences, The Enclave, Livingston Lakefront Estates, The Legacy, La Cala Estates and The Isles. 
• Stock purchase of a large Puerto Rico distributor of industrial equipment.
• Acquisition of a loan and REO portfolio containing in excess of 150 assets by Grove Gate Financial.

Practices

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