Michael Melzer joined Nixon Peabody's Chicago office as a partner, bringing wide-ranging experience that runs the gamut from state and local government deals to high-profile public-private partnerships.
Virginia Wong, Nixon Peabody's project finance and public finance practice head, said in a statement that Melzer's experience complements the firm's practice as it looks to strengthen its Midwest presence.
"Mike brings a deep knowledge of the public finance and project finance markets, and has an excellent reputation for building strong, collaborative relationships focused on helping clients to achieve their goals," she said.
"They have a very large, very seasoned, well-regarded group in the project and public finance space," Melzer said of his new firm. "I have a lot of civic pride, and I believe this is going to be a beneficial change for a lot of the primary service providers to the city of Chicago. I think it's going to be a strengthening of the municipal finance field here."
Melzer told The Bond Buyer that Chicago entities in particular are navigating challenging times, not only in terms of the uncertainty on the federal front, but also in terms of capital backlogs and local dynamics.
Melzer's Chicago experience includes helping to devise a plan of finance for The 78, a 62-acre mixed-use development in the South Loop, and for Lincoln Yards, a 53-acre mixed-use project in an industrial corridor bridging the Lincoln Park and West Town neighborhoods.
The latter work was "in more of an informal capacity," Melzer said, but for the former project, he helped the city and the developer, Related Midwest, with the tax increment financing district, one of Illinois' largest.
Beyond Illinois, Melzer worked on the recent $1.6 billion One Bryant Park refinancing in Manhattan, which featured Liberty bonds subordinate to commercial mortgage-backed securities.
He was part of the team that served as bond counsel on the
He worked as designated investors' counsel for
His other accomplishments include a managed lanes project in the Beltway; desalination plants; electric and energy projects; energy service company transactions; hotel financings; and consolidated rental car facility deals.
Melzer earned his BS from Northern Illinois University and his JD from the University of Michigan Law School. He spent nearly 17 years at Katten Muchin Rosenman before starting at Nixon Peabody this month.
"Mike is well-known to many of our Chicago colleagues and will be an excellent addition to our office and our firm," David R. Brown, managing partner of Nixon Peabody's Chicago office, said in a statement. "His public finance background and strong relationships with clients perfectly complement Nixon Peabody's full-service capabilities."
