Karen B. Bjorkman
Of Counsel
Overview
Karen Bjorkman has extensive experience in all areas of commercial real estate, including title insurance, survey, and easement matters, and has represented multiple clients in Section 1031 tax-deferred exchanges.
She represents property owners, developers, borrowers, and lenders in all types of property-related transactions, including acquisitions, easement, license, and occupancy issues; development of real estate; risk analysis in connection with environmental contamination; resolution of common interest community property issues; financing; real estate related estate planning; and drafting and negotiating of commercial leases from both the landlord and the tenant's perspective, including retail, office, industrial, and ground leases.
Karen has a particular specialty in railroad-related real property law, including sales and acquisitions related to commuter rail development, such as negotiating and drafting complex agreements related to shared rail corridors and similar issues in multiple states.
Experience
Numerous sales and purchases of commercial properties, including:
- Negotiation for the sale or acquisition of commuter rail easements in multiple states.
- Negotiation for the sale of 7,000+ utility easements in connection with an asset sale of a major regional telephone company.
- Acquisition of more than 100 nationally located sites for restaurant development.
- Acquisition of numerous sites for development and operation, both locally and nationally, including redevelopment sites with environmental cleanup.
- Replatting commercial property for development and resale.
- Hundreds of retail, industrial, and commercial leases.
- Workout of defaulted commercial mortgage loans, including specialty properties, such as shopping centers, movie theaters, and resort properties.
- The sale of business assets, including real estate.
- Documentation of over 1,000 mortgage-based loans to local banks for construction, land development, and permanent financing.
Additional Qualifications
Minnesota State Bar Association Board Certified Specialist in Real Property Law, 2000-2025.
Honors
Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®, 2022-2026
Recognized as a Top Lawyer, Minnesota Monthly, 2023-2024 (The research for the Top Lawyers list, created by Professional Research Services, is based on an online peer-review survey sent to all attorneys in Minnesota.)
AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell®