Allison L. Bergman

Allison is the legal architect of notable private and public/private partnerships in real estate and transportation. Her mastery extends to large-scale infrastructure, industrial, port, commercial real estate, intermodal and transload facilities, apartments, hotels, and student housing projects. She is a veteran development attorney in the port, airport, rail and transit sectors. Allison also has a long history acquiring, developing, and managing right-of-ways, and interfacing with utilities and regulators. She brings particular skill and knowledge to project finance and land development. Allison’s currency is creativity, smarts, tenacity, and connections.

Tapped at project inception, Allison structures and develops a financing and implementation framework for each development project, and then drives it to completion. Transactions led by Allison involve conduit bonds, housing tax credits, tax-exempt financing, New Market Tax Credits, Brownfield and historic tax credits, and grants and loans from HUD, DOT, EPA. She also secures incentives for her clients, using tools such as tax increment financing, exempt sale-leasebacks, PACE loans, and tax abatement. With 20 years of legal expertise under her belt, Allison provides seasoned counsel on matters involving property acquisition, sale, development, condominiums, covenants, commercial leasing, land platting, zoning, and taxing district matters.

Allison’s projects typically involve governmental oversight. Her understanding of regulations is documented: for 11 years, she co-authored the Federal Regulations section of the Missouri Bar Association’s Real Estate Practice Handbook. Allison also interprets and monitors Davis-Bacon, M/WBE contractor utilization, public bidding, and procurement mandates. Coupling legal experience with her education in urban planning, Allison also drafts economic development, planning, and transportation studies. She also drafts governance and compliance policies

Allison represents developers, issuers, and public agencies, and works seamlessly—on national and local projects—with lenders, architects, engineers, and construction contractors, to put ideas to work. She also manages client obligations which continue after project implementation, as well as post-closing corporate compliance. By having a broad client base, Allison understands challenges and opportunities, from many perspectives. For over a decade, Allison served as assistant and then general counsel to one of the nation’s oldest functioning freight terminal railroads. She negotiated rail transport, industrial, and service agreements, some of which required approval of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board. Allison has successfully led numerous multimillion dollar rail expansion and infrastructure projects, west of the Mississippi. Allison has also served as legal counsel to transit authorities. For one, she managed its extensive property portfolio, and led park-and-ride and transit center developments

Allison has practiced as a development and transportation attorney for nearly two decades. A small sampling of what she’s done, just recently:

• In the last two years, Allison has served as lead development and finance counsel to a port authority on more than 600 million dollars of industrial and mixed-use development.
• Since 2013, Allison has acted as lead counsel to a bi-state airport authority.  Recently, she consummated a high-profile, six-party public/private partnership driven by a deadline established by Congress, on time. Representation required intensive contract negotiations with FAA and EPA.
• For two public/private partnerships, Allison was co-lead counsel on freight rail “DBFOM” infrastructure projects financed by tolls, both of which required federal and state regulatory approvals. Post-closing, Allison ensured compliance on all implementation, audit, accounting, reporting, and development performance requirements, including negotiating of track use agreements with Amtrak.
• Allison is acting as the right-of-way agent for numerous industrial property acquisitions required by an airport for FAA runway expansion project.  Acquisitions are in strict accordance with Uniform Relocation and Property Acquisition Act and made under supervision of state department of transportation.
• Allison manages right-of-way portfolios. For one client, she was the point-person for a right-of-way spanning two states and 90-miles. For a national utility, she acquired a bi-state pipeline, both by negotiation and condemnation.
• Allison served as co-lead counsel on the finance portion of a fixed guideway, streetcar expansion study, including investigation of potential 4(f) FHWA property transfers.
• Allison authored the finance section of a major metropolitan area’s “transit oriented development” land use and incentive policy and drafted codified economic development policy for a fast-growing community with a small municipal airport.
• Allison co-authored amendments to the State of Missouri’s port special taxing district legislation, enabling the next generation of development for ports. Afterward, as the lead counsel, Allison established – by judicial approval - the first four port improvement districts in the state.

Recognition. Allison’s expertise is recognized on a national, state and local level:

• UMKC Alumni Achievement Award-School of Law, 2013
• Chambers USA as Leading Lawyer for Business, 2012
• Women Worth Watching, Diversity Journal
• Best Business Practitioner - Western District of Missouri - Missouri Lawyer’s Media, 2011
• Best of the Bar for Real Estate, Kansas City Business Journal, 2011
• Chambers USA’s Leading Law Firms, Transportation: Rail
• Missouri Bar Association, finalist for Lawyer of the Year, 2009
• Women Who Mean Business, Kansas City Business Journal, 2009
• Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyer, 2007-2014
• Kansas City’s Influential Women, Kansas City Business Magazine
• 2007 Urban Land Institute, Advisory Board Member
• American Bar Association, The Urban Lawyer, Editor-in-Chief
• UMKC Law Review

Engagement. When not providing legal counsel to her clients, Allison enthusiastically applies her skills, to help build a thriving community:

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Chair, 2013-2015, and Board Member, 2009-2015
• UMKC School of Urban Planning – Visiting Guest Lecturer, 2010-2017
• Metropolitan Energy Center, Board of Directors, 2002-2010
• Sheffield Place, Board Chair, 2012-2013; Board Member; 2007-2013
• American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, 2010
• International Right of Way Association, 2016
• Greater Missouri Leadership Challenge, Class of 2005
• Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Centurions, Class of 2003

Publications.

• Co-author, Missouri Bar CLE Handbook, Real Estate - Chapter on Federal Regulations, 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2011
• Covering Your Assets: Missouri’s New Limited Liability Partnership Law, Volume 63, No. 4, Summer 1995

More. Connect with Allison about structuring, elevating, and implementing your real estate or transportation project. Email abergman@hardwicklaw.com, or call 816.221.5436.