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 the immediate 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.
- 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
- Included in The Best Lawyers in America® for Real Estate Law and Land Use & Zoning Law (2018-present)
- REBA : president (2019); member, Board of Directors and Executive Committee
- NAIOP: co-chair, Environmental Committee and former vice president, Public Affairs
- The Abstract Club: member
- Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), Environmental and Real Estate Law Curriculum Committee: lecturer in real estate and Boston zoning practices
- Massachusetts Bar Foundation: former treasurer
- IOLTA Committee: former member
- "Parks, Urban Renewal, and the Public Trust," REBA News (December 2012)
- Catholic Charities North, Archdiocese of Boston – member, Board of Directors
- Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Boston – former member, Board of Trustees
- Town of Nahant – former chair, Finance Committee
Practice Areas
- 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 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.
- Permitting counsel for redevelopment and transformation of former industrial facilities on a 20-acre site into a modern mixed-use park.
- 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.
- Real estate counsel for development, financing, and sale of housing units in South Boston using linkage monies contributed pursuant to the City of Boston housing linkage program.