Brian Blaesser
Brian Blaesser serves on the faculty of the Urban & Regional Planning and Real Estate programs and is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group in the D.C. office of the law firm Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.Blaesser practices in the areas of commercial real estate development and redevelopment, land use, environmental and renewable energy law, with a focus on securing requisite entitlements from state and local governments.
Brian Blaesser serves on the faculty of the Urban & Regional Planning and Real Estate programs and is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group in the D.C. office of the law firm Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.
Blaesser practices in the areas of commercial real estate development and redevelopment, land use, environmental and renewable energy law, with a focus on securing requisite entitlements from state and local governments. He has extensive experience in state and federal trial and appellate courts in real estate and land use litigation, and formerly served as special assistant attorney general for eminent domain actions brought by the Illinois Departments of Transportation and Conservation. Blaesser is also engaged in structuring public/private partnerships with state and local governments on behalf of landowner and developer clients and utilizing development agreements and public financing mechanisms to achieve economic development objectives. In addition to his real estate development work, Blaesser has assisted local governments in analyzing and formulating master plans and development regulations in jurisdictions around the country, including Omaha, Nebraska, Prince George’s County and Annapolis, MD, Salt Lake City, UT, Norfolk, VA, Louisville, KY, New Orleans, and the City and County of Honolulu.
Blaesser is author of the book, Discretionary Land Use Controls (Thomson-Reuters: 24th ed. 2021), and co-author of the books, Federal Land Use Law & Litigation (Thomson-Reuters: 2021), Reinventing Development Regulations (Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: 2017) and Condemnation of Property: Practice and Strategies for Winning Just Compensation (Wiley Law Publications: 1994).
Blaesser has served as a Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, with an appointment at the Kennedy School of Government, where he has taught courses on planning and environmental law, and public/private partnerships. He also has taught Real Estate Development at the Columbia Business School, Milstein Center for Real Estate.
Blaesser is ranked in the 2022 Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the area of Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use. He is also a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP BD+C), and has been awarded the Counselor of Real Estate (CRE) designation. He holds J.D. from Boston College Law school, a Masters in City Planning from M.I.T., a B.A. from Brown University, and was a Fulbright Scholar.