Paula M. Devereaux
Paula Devereaux is an experienced commercial real estate and land use attorney, focusing her practice on development, zoning, permitting, planning, and environmental regulatory compliance. Paula serves as real estate counsel for a number of clients in the Greater Boston area, ranging from smaller organizations to large corporations, medical centers, retailers, and real estate firms. She regularly advises clients on Boston permitting matters, waterfront development issues, and in sales, acquisitions, and financings.
Paula is active in the real estate community, serving in leadership roles on several boards, and is a past president of the Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts (REBA).
Prior to joining Pierce Atwood, Paula was a partner on the Real Estate, Environmental, Land Use & Zoning, Finance, and Health Care teams at Rubin and Rudman LLP, a midsized law firm in Boston.
Honors & Distinctions
- Recognized as a “Go To” Commercial Real Estate Lawyer in Massachusetts by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2023)
- The Best Lawyers in America® “Lawyer of the Year” in Boston for Land Use & Zoning Law (2022)
- Recognized by Chambers USA for Real Estate, Zoning, and Land Use Law
- Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for Real Estate Law and Land Use & Zoning Law (2018-present)
- Named a “Top Ten Massachusetts Influencer in Real Estate, Zoning, and Land Use” by Business Today
Professional Activities
- Past president (2019) and member, REBA Board of Directors and Executive Committee
- Executive Committee, The Abstract Club
- Former co-chair, Environmental Committee and former vice president, Public Affairs, NAIOP
- Lecturer in real estate and Boston zoning practices, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Environmental and Real Estate Law Curriculum Committee
- Former treasurer, Massachusetts Bar Foundation
- Former member, IOLTA Committee
Publications
- "Parks, Urban Renewal, and the Public Trust," REBA News (December 2012)
Civic Activities
- Member and former chair, Town of Nahant Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee
- Former member, Board of Directors, Catholic Charities North, Archdiocese of Boston
- Former member, Board of Trustees, Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Boston
- Former Finance Committee chair, Town of Nahant, Mass.
Practice Areas
Representative Experience
- Permitting counsel for Master Plan area of South Boston involving lab, commercial and residential buildings with significant open space areas, new roads, sidewalks, and bike facilities on former polluted industrial land.
- Real estate counsel for development, financing, and sale of affordable housing units in various Boston neighborhoods using linkage and other public funds.
- Acquisition and permitting counsel for redevelopment of iconic building in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, consisting of renovation and redevelopment for creative office and research and development uses, involving approvals from the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), Boston Board of Appeal, Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the issuance of a Chapter 91 License by Mass. Department of Environmental Protection.
- Permitting counsel for redevelopment and transformation of former industrial facilities on a 20-acre site into a modern mixed-use neighborhood in Charlestown, Mass.
- Permitting counsel for development of new residential project (approved by the BPDA as a Planned Development Area) in the Fenway section of Boston, consisting of residential units, ground floor retail, restaurant and community spaces, and underground parking.
- Real estate counsel engaged in numerous transactional matters for sale and lease of medical office buildings and other hospital and medical facilities.
- Real estate finance and leasing counsel for ground lease of property from BPDA for the development and construction of much-needed housing.
- Real estate finance and leasing counsel for ground lease of surplus property from large statewide transportation agency for the development of residential condominiums.
- Permitting counsel for redevelopment of retail mall into corporate offices with ground floor retail space in downtown Boston.
- Counsel to major national retailer to assist with Chapter 91, Designated Port Area, and local permitting issues. Complicating factors included creating and implementing regulations dealing with de-designation of property within a DPA, detailed C. 91 analysis, and other local and state permitting issues.
- Permitting counsel for renovation and addition to luxury hotel within an urban renewal project area with significant public realm improvements.