Direct: (919) 645-4305
For nearly 15 years, Penn has advised clients nationwide on all aspects of complex real estate transactions. With a focus on multifamily transactions (both traditional and student housing), he has successfully represented clients in the development, purchase and sale of dozens of multifamily properties totaling more than $3 billion in value.
Penn also brings substantial experience advising build-to-rent (BTR) and single-family rental (SFR) housing sponsors and investors on the acquisition and development of residential subdivisions. He routinely assists clients with the acquisition, financing, development and sale of retail, mixed-use, industrial and office projects, regularly drafting and negotiating joint venture, development and management agreements. A significant portion of his practice is dedicated to representing landlords and tenants in negotiating leases for industrial, manufacturing, retail, office and medical office properties.
Widely recognized as a leading attorney, Penn has been featured by publications including Chambers USA: Real Estate, North Carolina; Legal 500, North Carolina; North Carolina Super Lawyers; and Business North Carolina, Legal Elite. In 2024, the Triangle Business Journal honored him with its 40 Under 40 Leadership Award, which celebrates top young professionals for their proven performance in their industries and communities.
In addition to his client work, Penn sits on the firm’s management committee and chairs its attorney recruiting committee. He frequently lectures on commercial real estate topics to law students at the University of North Carolina School of Law and MBA students at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Prior to joining the firm, Penn practiced in the Charlotte and Raleigh offices of a large international law firm. He also served as a temporary law clerk to the Honorable G. Steven Agee of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Penn lives in Raleigh with his wife and their two sons.
Practice Areas
Real Estate Acquisitions & Dispositions
Real Estate Leasing
Real Estate Finance & Capital Markets
Real Estate Investment & Development
Distinctions
Business North Carolina, Legal Elite, Real Estate and/or Young Guns, 2019-2026
Chambers USA Guide to America: Real Estate, North Carolina, 2026
Chambers USA: Real Estate, Regional Spotlight North Carolina, 2024-2026
Legal 500, North Carolina Real Estate, 2026
North Carolina Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, Real Estate, 2021-2026
Triangle Business Journal, 40 Under 40 Leadership Award, 2024
Admissions
North Carolina
Memberships and Community Involvement
Board Member (2023-present), Aldert Root Elementary Educational Foundation
Board Member (2025-present), Virginia Episcopal School, Board of Visitors
Board Member (2022-present), Washington & Lee University School of Law, Law Council
Board Member (2023-present), YMCA of the Triangle, Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer Advisory Board
Board Member (2013-2016), University of North Carolina Young Alumni Leadership Council
Deacon (2025-present), White Memorial Presbyterian Church Diaconate
Education
Washington and Lee University School of Law, J.D. (Martin P. Burks Scholar)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. (with honors)
Representative Transactions
- Buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of more than two dozen student housing apartment complexes totaling more than $3 billion across the country
- REIT in the $2.3 billion acquisition of a portfolio of 72 medical office buildings and development parcels over four serial closings
- REIT in the review of the real estate diligence, including leases, loan documents, title documents and surveys, of the merging REIT related to the $5.7 billion merger of the two REITs
- Managing member in the negotiation of a $750 million platform joint venture and the subsequent acquisition of six apartment complexes during a three-year period
- SFR sponsor in the acquisition and development of numerous residential communities totaling more than $500 million
- Investment firm in the acquisition, sale and development of numerous warehouse projects totaling more than $350 million
- National financial institution in dozens of sales of a variety of asset types totaling more than $100 million of owned real property acquired through foreclosure
- Buyer in the acquisition of a $120 million student housing apartment complex
- Landlords and tenants in commercial lease negotiations involving tens of millions of rentable square feet
- REIT listed on the NYSE in the acquisition, sale, management and leasing of real property
- International convenience store chain in the acquisition, development, sale and leasing of real property
- Borrower in the $50 million refinancing of a portfolio of seven shopping centers
- Pension fund in the acquisition of a $75 million mixed-use development
- Multifamily investment firm in the sale of a $47 million apartment complex
- Retail developer in the sale of a $32 million shopping center
- Buyer/borrower in the acquisition and financing of a $35 million apartment complex
- Retail developer in the land acquisition, financing, development and leasing of a shopping center
- Multifamily investment firm in the acquisition of a $40 million apartment complex
- Investment firm in the $12 million acquisition of a historic office building
- Buyer/borrower in the $25 million acquisition of an apartment complex and related financing and joint venture
