Hawkins served as lender’s counsel and special tax counsel for a tax exempt loan to finance a San Francisco campus expansion project by California College of the Arts (CCA). As lender’s counsel to First Republic Bank, Hawkins assisted the bank by drafting the loan documentation for this exciting project in San Francisco. As special tax counsel, the Firm provided tax advice and an opinion that interest on the loan is tax exempt.
The project includes an interlocked terrain of educational buildings and student spaces that will cover 2.3 acres extending west from the building that has been the San Francisco home of the school since 1996. The architecture firm Studio Gang won a competition to design the campus extension. The extension will be the latest piece in the college’s effort to create a campus-like feel in a former light manufacturing area south of San Francisco’s Showplace Square. According to press reports, like many construction projects in the Bay Area, this project was put on hold because of the pandemic. The project is now reported to be fully underway and is scheduled to be open in time for the 2024-25 academic year.
CCA is regarded as one of the best art and design schools in the United States. Founded in 1907, CCA currently offers 23 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs.
| Project | California College of the Arts |
| Role | Lender’s Counsel |
| Client | First Republic Bank |
