Allison Nelson

Allison Nelson’s national real estate practice centers on transactions for healthcare systems. She represents clients in complex real estate matters and mergers and acquisitions, negotiating sales, acquisitions, joint venture developments, leases, ground leases, and subleases in the healthcare sector. Her work also addresses the regulatory requirements that shape those transactions: Allison helps clients build and improve systems for managing real estate portfolios in compliance with federal and state healthcare laws, and guides them through real estate compliance investigations by the U.S. Office of Inspector General.

Beyond healthcare, Allison advises clients in the retail, industrial, office, mixed-use, senior living, and home builder sectors on commercial real estate acquisitions, entitlements, development, financing, and dispositions. She represents landlords and tenants in negotiating master leases, ground leases, leases, and subleases involving office parks, industrial centers, retail centers, anchor locations, and distribution and warehouse space.

Allison’s experience also includes serving as lender’s counsel in commercial real estate transactions for national lenders. She has represented court-appointed receivers of retail, office, multifamily, senior living, and other commercial properties.

University System:

Represented a university system in a joint venture development of a $500 million rehab hospital.

National Nonprofit Healthcare System:

Represented a national nonprofit healthcare system in a $1.2 billion acquisition of a hospital system that included five hospital campuses and various off campus properties.

Healthcare System Transactions:

Represent healthcare systems in acquisitions, leasing, joint-venture development, and disposition of ambulatory and urgent care centers, hospitals, MOBs, radiology and other labs, surgical centers, diagnostic facilities, senior living facilities, and retail medical space.

Commercial Loan Transactions:

Represent a national institutional lender in over 30 commercial loan transactions in South Florida.

Medical Office Building:

Represented a hospital repositioning a 100,000 square foot medical office building adjacent to a hospital by renegotiating leases with over 70 physician and physician group tenants, restructuring financing, and implementing new accounting and compliance protocols, ensuring the sale of the hospital campus to a university system.

Residential Development:

Represent national homebuilders in the development of single-family homes and master planned communities throughout Florida and Colorado.

Headquarters Sale:

Represent the developer in the sale of the U.S. Olympic Headquarters building in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Lease Negotiations:

Represent anchor tenant in lease negotiations in the Union Station redevelopment area.

Urban Mixed-Use Development:

Represented developers of urban residential mixed-use, high-rise condominium projects in Denver.

Multifamily Development:

Represented developer in the assemblage and refinancing of property for multifamily development in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Eminent Domain:

Represented an industrial manufacturer in eminent domain negotiations in connection with the development of the RTD light rail system in Colorado.

• J.D., University of Florida Levin College of Law, 1999, with high honors; Order of the Coif, Florida Law Review; Environmental Policy and Management Certificate, College of Environmental Engineering
• B.A., University of North Florida, English Literature, 1995, magna cum laude

• Colorado
• Florida

• Best Lawyers, 2010-2027, Listed in Colorado for Real Estate Law
• The Legal 500, 2026, Recommended for Real Estate – Mid-Market; 2020-2021, 2024-2025, Recommended for Real Estate
• Globe St., 2021, 2025, Named a “Influencer in Healthcare Real Estate” 
• Connect CRE, 2025, Lawyers in Real Estate Award for the Phoenix & Southwest Region
• GlobeSt, 2024, Named a “Women of Influence” Honoree for the CRE Legal Counsel Category
• Connect CRE, 2023 Women in Real Estate Award Winner, Phoenix & Southwest Region
• Bisnow, 2023 “Denver Women Leading Real Estate” Honoree
• Connect CRE, 2022 Lawyer in Real Estate Award Winner, Phoenix & Southwest Region
• 5820 Magazine, 2018, Recognized as a “Top Lawyer in Real Estate”
• Outstanding Women in Business, Nominee, 2015
• Super Lawyers, 2010-2013, Listed in Colorado as a “Rising Star”

• Practising Law Institute (PLI) Negotiating Commercial Leases, Speaker, “Commercial Leases: Stayin’ Alive - Top 10 Tips for Surviving and Thriving in Life Sciences,” February 2024, February 2025, February 2026
• Practising Law Institute (PLI) Negotiating Commercial Leases, Speaker, “Commercial Leases: Medical Uses, Dealing With Large Hidden ‘Big Ticket’ Items,” February 2021, February 2022, February 2023
• Full Court Press, Negotiating and Drafting Commercial Leases, Medical Office Leasing Chapter, 2022
• Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section (RPTE) 34th Annual National CLE Conference, Speaker, “End of the Road: Key Considerations in Ground Lease Surrenders,” April 26 - 29, 2022
• Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) South Florida’s 11th Annual CLE Conference, Speaker, “Roaring Into the 20s: The Next Decade In-House,” April 30, 2021
• GlobeSt.com, Quoted, “Landlords Stand to Benefit from Surging Medical Practice M&A,” July 15, 2020
• Strafford Publications, Webinar, Presenter, “Medical Office Leases: Navigating Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, Operational Restrictions, and More,” June 25, 2019
• 2019 Akerman U.S. Real Estate Sector Report, Contributor
• 2018 Akerman U.S. Real Estate Sector Report, Contributor
• Strafford Publications, Presenter, “Medical Office Leases: Navigating Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, Operational Restrictions, and More,” April 19, 2017
• ABA Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Spring Symposium, Presenter, “From the Group Up:  Digging Into the Complex Issues Raised in Ground Leases,” April 20, 2017