Alfred Fraijo Jr.

Alfred Fraijo is a partner in the Real Estate, Land Use and Natural Resources practice group in the firm's Los Angeles office.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Fraijo grows his expertise on cutting edge real estate transactions for public, private and nonprofit developers and multi-national corporations in the United States and abroad.  He recently was featured in "Newsmakers" by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Mr. Fraijo has significant experience in obtaining and negotiating land use entitlements for complex housing and mixed use development projects throughout California, including advising clients with innovative, urban renewal projects in the inner-city and other sectors with emerging markets. His real estate and land use expertise extends to transmission towers permitting, green energy facilities development and permitting educational campuses for charter schools.

Mr. Fraijo advises public and private sector clients on state and federal land use and environmental laws, including the Subdivision Map Act, California Community Redevelopment Law, California Environmental Quality Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, CERCLA, RCRA, California Superfund Law and the Polanco Redevelopment Act.  Mr. Fraijo also has significant experience in working closely with clients and consultants on due diligence review of land use issues, which includes local zoning ordinances, general plans, redevelopment agency plans, and related land use restrictions.

Mr. Fraijo's recent representative matters include:

• Negotiated all aspects of public financing, including the owner participation agreement, and construction agreements for the development of 21 single-family detached affordable homes in the Central Valley to be LEED-certified;
• Negotiated conservation easements and property transfer agreements on behalf of a multi-national renewable-energy company in California;
• Completed due diligence acquisition and entitlements for 1.2-million square feet of condominiums, office, commercial and entertainment uses in Los Angeles;
• Represented developer in the construction and financing of a mixed-used project, including 100-units of affordable rental housing.  Also drafted and negotiated easement agreements allocating rights and responsibilities for long-term property use and maintenance;
• Completed entitlements and negotiated redevelopment agency financing for a transit-oriented development project, including 269 condominiums, 40,000 square feet of retail and 185 space City-owned transit parking structure;
• Represented developer in connection with the entitlement and environmental review of over 1-million square feet of residential, office and entertainment uses in Los Angeles, including the preservation and rehabilitation of a historic theatre and recording studio;
• Negotiated a prevailing wage dispute arising out of a multi-million housing and commercial development project in California;
• Negotiated the sale of a 21-acre industrial site, including securing environmental indemnification and insurance for seller;
• Represented redevelopment agencies and developers in condemnation actions and environmental cleanup proceedings in connection with the Polanco Redevelopment Act;
• Negotiated environmental indemnity, remediation and easement agreements for major developers in connection with the purchase and sale of contaminated properties; and
• Represented developers and purchasers of contaminated properties in negotiations with governmental agencies in order to obtain Prospective Purchaser Agreements, Comfort Letters and No Further Action Letters for protection from environmental liability.

Mr. Fraijo has served on numerous real estate associations and organizations focused on urban renewal issues and civic empowerment.  Mr. Fraijo is the founder and Chairman of the Los Angeles Urban Renewal Network, Inc., a multi-disciplinary collaborative of young professionals engaged in policy and sustainable development to improve the quality of housing in Southern California.  He serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors for the Friends of the Hollywood Freeway Central Park, Inc.  Mr. Fraijo also advises several non-profit housing development corporations, including as Board member of California Community Builders, Inc. and Vice President of the East Los Angeles Community Corporation.  Mr. Fraijo is a Founding Board member of Honor PAC and For People of Color, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to growing diversity in the legal profession.

Mr. Fraijo continues to speak for professional associations and continuing education symposia and has published articles on emerging trends in state and federal land use and environmental law as well as on environmental justice issues. Mr. Fraijo is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of California, the State Bar of Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Bar Association, the Los Angeles Bar Association, and the Mexican American Bar Association.

Mr. Fraijo received his J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 2002, where he was a full tuition scholarship recipient and member of the nationally ranked National Hispanic Moot Court Team from 2001 to 2002.  In 1999, he graduated cum laude from Harvard University and received a B.A. in Government.  Prior to Loyola and Harvard, Mr. Fraijo participated in an accelerated engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and traveled as a student ambassador to Japan and South Korea.

Education

• J.D., Loyola Law School, 2002
• B.A., Harvard University, 1999

Admissions

• California
• District of Columbia

Memberships

• San Francisco Bar Association
• Los Angeles Bar Association
• Mexican American Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Brownfields Committee of the California Redevelopment Association
• Board member for California Community Builders, Inc. and Friends of the Hollywood Freeway Central Park
• Board member for the East Los Angeles Community Corporation
• Founding Board member for Honor PAC and For People of Color, Inc.
• Founder of the Los Angeles Urban Renewal Network, Inc.

Articles

• Sheppard Mullin Continues to Grow its Real Estate Practice, California Real Estate Journal, November 23, 2009

• "LURN Looks To Engage Communities in Neighborhood Development," California Real Estate Journal, November 2009.
• "California's New Controversial MOA," Brownfields News, June 2005.
• "AB 389: New California Legislation," Brownfields News, April 2005.
• “New California Legislation Requires Comprehensive Cleanups For New Purchasers
• Seeking 'Immunity' from State Joint and Several Liability Laws,” BNA's Environmental Due Diligence Guide, February 2005.
• “A Practical Guide to AB 389,” Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., January 2005.
• “Modesto v. Dow Chemical: A Manufacture's Prospective,” California Redevelopment Journal, November 2004.
• “Changing the Color of Power: Minority Representation in the California State Legislature,” Greenlining Institute Publication, August 1999.  
• “The Power of Knowledge Promoting Achievement Among Latino Youth,” Quo V adis Magazine, September/October 1998.

Speeches

• Woodbury University, "Neighborhood Empowerment and Land Use Planning," Lecture, August 2010
• American College of Real Estate Lawyers, Spring Education Summit, "Who's Afraid of NEPA?: Hidden NEPA Compliance Issues in Complex Projects," Speaker, March 2010
• California Redevelopment Association- Redevelopment Institute, "Fundamentals in Real Estate Development," Instructor, May 2009
• California Bar Program, Real Property Law Section, "The Redevelopment Process," Panelist, January 2007.
• California State Bar Association 2005 Annual Meeting, "Use of the Polanco Act in Brownfields Redevelopment," Panelist, September 2005.
• UC Berkeley Extension, "CEQA Update," Instructor, March 2003-2006.