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Samir Gassanov is an associate in Gowlings’ Toronto office, acting for a range of clients in real estate, infrastructure, energy, PPP, construction and procurement, waste management and social housing sectors. More specifically, he practises in the following areas:
Commercial Real Estate
Samir advises on all aspects of commercial real estate practice, including acquisition, divestiture and development of commercial properties, as well as commercial leasing and real estate financing, including international and domestic real estate investors, owners, borrowers, lenders, commercial landlords and tenants ranging from single-location landlords and tenants to tenants with numerous locations and landlords owning large multi-tenant commercial and retail projects. His practice encompasses a variety of commercial and real property-related issues, including commercial and industrial purchase and sale transactions, commercial, industrial and retail leasing, and secured financing and mortgage lending.
Renewable Energy
Samir's experience in the area of commercial real estate includes acting for land owners and developers in connection with renewable energy projects, such as solar ground-mount and rooftop, wind and water projects.
Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnerships (P3)
Samir's infrastructure experience includes acting on behalf of private sector and public authority clients in connection with the more traditional delivery models (stipulated price and cost plus) and also design-build, construction management and P3 project delivery methods.
Construction and Commercial Contracts
Samir has extensive experience drafting and negotiating commercial contracts, including design, construction, and O&M contracts, joint venture agreements, project management agreements, supply and service agreements, tenders and requests for proposal, and advising in-house legal counsel and business people by identifying risk issues, drafting and providing mark-ups of contracts and procurement documents or riders with exceptions and qualifications. He keeps current precedent supplementary conditions and riders in connection with the Canadian Construction Documents Committee (CCDC), Canadian Construction Association (CCA) and professional service contracts.
Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 (PCCA)
Samir has thorough familiarity with the legislative and regulatory framework governing private career colleges in Ontario and extensive experience with regulatory matters and advising a large private career college with the registration and approval of its programs.
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA)
He has thorough knowledge of the applicable provincial legislative framework and constitutional issues arising out of provincial disability regulation, including its impact on federal undertakings. He provides extensive advice to various organizations, including non-profits and multi-nationals operating in Ontario, in connection with regulatory compliance with the Customer Service Standards and Integrated Standards regulations under the AODA.
Languages Spoken
Samir is fluent in English and Russian and can converse in Azeri. Commercial Real Estate
- Acting as lead associate on a butterfly reorganization of a client’s business (with a team of over 40 Gowlings professionals across 4 offices) and dealing with the title transfer, mortgage assumption, and financing of a portfolio of real properties across Canada
- Acting as lead associate on the disposition of several properties and financing for a real estate investment trust (REIT)
- Developing template solar lease documentation in connection with the development and financing of a program by one of the world’s largest and most experienced photovoltaic (PV) development companies
- Lead associate in connection with the extensive real estate due diligence on behalf of a consortium with respect to a proposed acquisition of water power assets
- Acting for European investors with respect to the acquisition and financing of several significant Canadian office and retail developments
Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnerships (P3)
Experience acting for an authority on a P3 project
- Acting on behalf of the Toronto Port Authority in connection with the $82.5 million pedestrian tunnel from the mainland to the Billy Bishop Island Airport
Experience acting on behalf of a consortium
- Acting on behalf of the successful consortium in respect of the South West Detention Centre P3 Project
General P3 experience
- Acting on behalf of a member of a proponent consortium for the Ottawa Light Rail Transit Project
- Acting on behalf of a consortium member in respect of the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre Project in British Columbia
- Reviewing and negotiating the project documents, on behalf of a consortium member, in respect of Waterloo Courthouse and OPP Modernization P3 Projects
- Reviewing and negotiating, on behalf of a member of the successful consortium, the project documents for the Thunder Bay Consolidated Courthouse and Humber River Regional Hospital P3 Project
Samir's recent articles include:
- Article for the Partnership Bulletin comparing U.K. PFIs to the Canadian PPP models, co-authored with Nick Iliff
- "Ontario's Planning Regime," an extensive review of Ontario's planning regime, co-authored with David Tang
- “Corporate Governance for Not-For-Profit Organizations,” Gowlings' corporate governance bulletin, co-authored with David Tang and Kathleen Ritchie
While in law school, Samir served as senior editor for the Windsor Law Review. |
