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Kimberlee  Stafford

Kimberlee Stafford

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Overview

Kimberlee's practice focuses on a wide range of commercial real estate transactions, including purchases and sales, 1031 exchanges, commercial leases, and financing. Kimberlee represents a diverse group of businesses, owners, and developers with a special emphasis on the forest products, energy, agricultural, and seniors housing industries.

She has extensive experience with timberland and mill purchases and sales in Oregon, Idaho and Montana, including representing the purchaser of 17,000 acres of Idaho timberlands and associated property rights. In the seniors housing market, Kimberlee represents assisted living facility owners in loan transactions and frequently negotiates property management agreements.

Kimberlee negotiates retail leases in shopping centers throughout the United States. She also represents renewable energy clients in land acquisition, title curative matters, permitting due diligence, and project financing. She regularly handles real estate aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and bankruptcy transactions, which included helping a grocery store chain emerge from bankruptcy and obtain new financing secured by over 30 owned or leased properties.

Kimberlee's clients appreciate her timely, efficient, and straightforward approach to problem solving.
 

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Get To Know

Attorney Kimberlee Stafford is a dedicated cyclist. Growing up in Boise, she fell in love with cycling watching the Ore Ida Women’s Challenge, North America's biggest women’s professional bike race during the 1980s. Further inspired by Olympians Connie Carpenter-Phinney and Rebecca Twigg, as well as the cycling-centric coming of age movie Breaking Away, Kimberlee saved money mowing lawns to buy her first real road bike when she was 12. Many models have since replaced that first bike (still in her possession), but her dedication to cycling sports remains and has only gotten stronger. She enjoys road cycling with her wife to explore scenic Oregon, and pursues cyclocross for the endurance test and fun!

“These are totally different kinds of riding,” explains Kimberlee. “Road cycling gets us out to see and experience all the beautiful spaces of Oregon up close and it’s not uncommon to put in 100-mile days. But cyclocross is a fall sport, which is fun, muddy, and technical. We might be racing in terrible weather, but then we get to hang out, cheer each other on, and enjoy a beer with friends when we're done.”

Kimberlee has been racing cyclocross for 10 years. She discovered the sport during law school and eventually the combination of chaos and camaraderie drew her in. Tonkon Torp sponsors Kimberlee’s team, Grouptrail Cycling (which includes fellow attorney David Forman), a family-friendly crew more focused on friendship and fun than setting records.

During a cyclocross race, competitors ride as hard as they can to complete as many laps as possible on a two-mile circular racecourse. The courses, located throughout Oregon, feature combinations of pavement, wooded trails, grass, sand, and steep hills, as well as intentionally-constructed obstacles requiring riders to dismount and carry their bikes. Although she appreciates the unique offerings of each course, Kimberlee’s favorite experience was a race held at Oaks Park in Sellwood. The course had a long portion along the Willamette River that changed in composition from sand to water during the day as the tide rose, keeping riders on their toes to monitor conditions and pick the best line.

Cycling is not just a personal passion. Kimberlee’s practice includes a focus on real estate and sustainability, and she has led efforts at Tonkon Torp to improve sustainable business practices such as making bike commuting more accessible. She also currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for The Street Trust, a nonprofit organization working to improve public transit, walking, and bicycling conditions in Oregon.

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Oregon cyclocross season was unfortunately cancelled. Kimberlee is looking forward to getting back to the starting line in Fall 2021.
 
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Featured Representative Matters

Environmental Remediation and Purchase of Railcar Facility

In 1992, Tonkon Torp helped the Greenbrier Companies lease a large railcar repair facility in Cleburne, Texas; the lease included a purchase option. Following extensive environmental remediation performed by facility owner and negotiated by Tonkon Torp, as well as extensive additions and alterations to the property boundaries, Gunderson Rail Services LLC purchased the Cleburne facility in July 2019.
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Featured Work

Tonkon Torp Helps Albina Head Start Purchase Property for Community Cornerstone

Attorneys from Tonkon Torp’s Real Estate & Land Use Practice Group are celebrating a successful real estate purchase for pro bono client Albina Head Start (AHS). For more than 40 years, AHS has leased space at a former church building in NE Portland for its Tina Clegg Center. The Center, a community pillar for one of Portland’s historic communities of color, houses both a Head Start program serving 60 low-income families and AHS administrative offices that coordinate and provide services for numerous additional families.

Tonkon Torp Attorneys Help Secure Portland’s First Five-Star Hotel Project

Tonkon Torp played a foundational role in paving the way for Oregon’s first five-star hotel development, the 35-story Ritz-Carlton hotel in downtown Portland. Attorneys from the Real Estate & Land Use Law Practice Group represented their client, the landowner, in negotiating an agreement to enter into a ground lease (AEGL) with BPM Real Estate Group, a Portland-based developer, assisting with the fulfillment of the AEGL’s conditions, and closing the transaction with the parties entering into the ground lease itself.

Albina Head Start Turns on First Solar-Powered Building with Assist from Tonkon Torp

When Albina Head Start learned it was awarded a Blue Sky Fund grant to install a rooftop solar array on one of its buildings, it turned to its long-time pro bono legal partner, Tonkon Torp. The nonprofit organization knew that it would need legal guidance to ensure that it could meet the terms laid out in the grant’s detailed and binding Memo of Understanding.

Tonkon Torp Completes Complex Asset Sale for Privately Held Business

In late 2014, Tonkon Torp represented a privately held heavy industrial equipment manufacturer in a complex transaction that included selling business assets and real property, and leasing other related business property. The selling company is a long-term client of the firm.

Historic U.S. Bank Block Sale

Tonkon Torp real estate and tax lawyers were instrumental in the complex, $40 million sale of the historic U.S. Bank Block in downtown Portland to real estate investment firm ScanlanKemperBard. Find details and more featured cases here.

Tonkon Torp Helps Albina Head Start Stabilize Finances for Enhanced Programming

Albina Head Start, Inc. (AHS), which serves more than 1,000 low-income children and their families in North, Northeast and Southeast Portland, faces the future in a stronger financial position thanks to a significant pro bono effort by Tonkon Torp. Find details and more featured cases here.

Tonkon Torp Leads Oregon Grocery Chain Out of Bankruptcy

In one of the quickest and most successful conclusions of a grocery chain bankruptcy proceeding, Tonkon Torp secured court approval of a reorganization plan for C&K Market, Inc., to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy just seven months after filing. Find details and more featured cases here.

Tonkon Torp Helps Commercial Real Estate Owner With Critical Sale Hurdle Through Defeasance

Tonkon Torp’s timely and experienced loan defeasance work permitted a shopping center owner to realize the profitable sale of that real estate in a transaction that initially appeared to be financially infeasible. Find details and more featured cases here.

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Community Involvement & Activities


Albina Head Start, Inc.
Pro Bono Lawyer

Multnomah County Advisory Committee on Sustainability and Innovation
Former Member

Oregon State Bar
Member, Real Estate & Land Use Section Executive Committee
Member, Sustainable Future Section Executive Committee
Former Member, Environmental & Natural Resources Section Executive Committee

The Street Trust
Chair, Board of Directors

Portland Business Alliance
Leadership Portland Class of 2008
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Professional Memberships

American Bar Association
Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW)
Multnomah Bar Association
Oregon Minority Lawyers Association
Oregon Women Lawyers
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Awards & Recognition

The Best Lawyers in America

The Best Lawyers in America

2021, Real Estate Law
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers

2020, Real Estate
2017-2019, Recognized Practitioner - Real Estate

Oregon State Bar

2015, President's Sustainability Award
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Recent News

8.20.2020

Best Lawyers in America® Includes 49 Tonkon Torp Attorneys on 2021 List

Forty-nine Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 36 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2021. A majority of attorneys have been named to the peer-review list in past years, and most have been recognized for more…
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4.27.2020

Chambers USA Names 20 Tonkon Torp Attorneys in 2020 Ranking

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business has recognized 20 Tonkon Torp attorneys in seven practice areas in its 2020 USA Guide. Eighteen of the Tonkon Torp attorneys named have been previously ranked by Chambers.
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2.6.2020

Four Tonkon Torp Attorneys Appointed to OSB Section Executive Committees

Four Tonkon Torp attorneys have been appointed to the Executive Committees of their respective Oregon State Bar (OSB) sections.
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1.17.2020

Kimberlee Stafford Elected Chair of The Street Trust Board of Directors

Tonkon Torp partner Kimberlee Stafford has been elected as Chair of the Board of Directors for The Street Trust. The Street Trust is a nonprofit organization that promotes community partnerships to improve public transit, walking and bicycling…
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6.24.2019

Tonkon Torp Attorneys Author Real Estate Guide for Chambers USA

Four partners from the Tonkon Torp Real Estate & Land Use Practice Group authored the 2019 Chambers USA Regional Real Estate Guide for Oregon. The attorneys who contributed to the guide are Ted Herzog, David J. Petersen, Kimberlee Stafford, and…
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5.23.2019

Tonkon Torp Colleagues Together Through the Long Haul

Anna Sortun, Kimberlee Stafford, and James Hein have shared many journeys since starting their law careers together at Tonkon Torp as first-year attorneys in a class of three.
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4.29.2019

Chambers USA Names 23 Tonkon Torp Attorneys in 2019 Ranking

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business has recognized 23 Tonkon Torp attorneys in seven practice areas in its 2019 USA Guide.
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10.1.2018

Tonkon Torp Sponsors Street Trusts 2018 Alice Awards

Tonkon Torp was a Program Events sponsor at The Street Trust's Alice Awards on September 28. Kimberlee Stafford took the lead on filling Tonkon's table at the event and attended along with David Forman and their guests. Both Kimberlee and David are…
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6.4.2018

Chambers USA Names 20 Tonkon Torp Attorneys as Leaders in Their Field

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business has named 20 Tonkon Torp attorneys in seven practice areas as leaders in their field for 2018. The annual reference directory ranks Oregon’s leading lawyers based on interviews with clients and…
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2.1.2018

Kimberlee Stafford Joins The Street Trust Board of Directors

Tonkon Torp partner Kimberlee Stafford has been elected to The Street Trust Board of Directors. The Street Trust is a nonprofit organization that promotes community partnerships to improve public transit, walking, and bicycling conditions in Oregon…
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Recent Alerts

3.28.2012

Transfer on Death Deeds: A Good Tool for Estate Planning in Oregon?

Effective January 1, 2012, Oregon law provides for a new form of deed known as a transfer on death (TOD) deed. These deeds allow an owner of real property to designate a beneficiary who will obtain title to that real property when the owner dies…
Read More
6.13.2007

Supreme Court Allows Superfund Cleanup Cost Recovery

On June 11, 2007, in U.S. v Atlantic Research Corp., the United States Supreme Court solved a portion of the puzzle that has confounded so-called potentially responsible parties (PRPs) since the Court's decision in Cooper Industries, Inc. v Aviall…
Read More
5.29.2007

Deadline Extended for Resolution of Certain Measure 37 Claims

On May 10, 2007, Governor Kulongoski signed House Bill 3546, which extends the time period for government entities to decide certain Measure 37 claims from 180 to 540 days.
Read More
11.7.2006

Deadline to File Certain Measure 37 Claims is December 2, 2006

Oregon's Ballot Measure 37 (now codified as ORS 197.352) took effect on December 2, 2004.
Read More
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Publications & Presentations


"USA Regional Real Estate Guide – Oregon," Chambers and Partners, May 2019

"Key Issues in Retail Leasing," Women's Networking Group, November 2017

"Commercial Leases," The Fundamentals of Real Estate and Land Use Law Seminar Series, Multnomah Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, September 2017

"Title Insurance and Survey Review: What You Need to Know" and "Step-By-Step Through the Purchase Contract," Handling Real Estate Transactions with Confidence, National Business Institute, December 2013

"REITs, Master Limited Partnerships Could Make Playing Field More Level for Renewables," Sustainable Business Oregon//Portland Business Journal, June 2013

Co-Editor, Environmental Volume 1: Regulation and Permitting, Oregon State Bar, 2013

"Oregon's New Transfer on Death Deed," Rotary Club of East Portland, July 2012

"Oregon Can't Afford Not to Invest in Renewables," Daily Journal of Commerce, March 2012

"Wind Energy Facilities Real or Personal Property," Daily Journal of Commerce, August 2011

Moderator, "The Promise of Development: Natural Resource Issues in a New Economy," Oregon State Bar
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Services

Real Estate & Land Use Law Environmental & Natural Resources Energy Law & Litigation Sustainability Law
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Education

J.D., Lewis & Clark Law School, 2005

B.S., Lewis & Clark College, 1994
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Bar & Court Admissions

Oregon State Bar
Idaho State Bar
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