Steven Rypma

Steve Rypma concentrates his practice on real estate transactions, with a particular focus on the acquisition, development and financing of affordable housing. He is leader of the firm’s Affordable Housing group and Development and Regulated Real Estate Practice Group.

Steve represents for-profit and non-profit developers, owners and investors in connection with the complex ownership, financing and regulatory issues associated with the acquisition, development, ownership and operation of affordable housing projects. Steve has significant experience counseling clients in connection with the acquisition and syndication of low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bond financing and procuring loans, grants and other incentives from federal, state, and local housing authorities, including HUD, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and other state and local housing authorities across the United States.

Steve also has significant experience advising clients throughout the life cycle of an affordable housing project, such as preservation transactions, investor exits, resyndication of low-income housing tax credits, qualified contract transactions and disposition transactions.

Steve also has substantial experience with complex real estate developments, involving joint ventures, tax increment financing, brownfield redevelopment, tax abatements, public-private partnerships, governmental incentives and the integration of multiple debt and equity sources into a real estate development project.

Steve regularly advises clients in connection with the State of Michigan’s PILOT tax abatement program for affordable housing projects as well as other tax abatements and incentives for such projects, and has secured new PILOTs and renewals of PILOTs for numerous housing developments in communities across the State of Michigan.

Steve also advises institutional holders of real estate, such as manufacturers, hospital systems, retailers, banking and educational institutions in connection with their corporate real estate concerns, including office and industrial leasing, purchase and sale of facilities.

Notably, Steve has been a Certified LEED GA (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Green Associate) since 2010.

Practice Areas

Industries

Representative Matters

• Represented River Caddis Communities, LLC in the joint venture acquisition and workforce housing conversion of Ridge45, a 484-unit multifamily community in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, including structuring workforce housing components, ground lease financing, agency loans, and a workforce housing tax abatement. This is the largest multifamily transaction closed in Michigan in recent years.
• Represented Magnus Capital Partners in the development of HōM Flats at Forest, a $72 million workforce and affordable housing community in Dayton, Ohio consisting of 260 apartment units, including site acquisition, development, partnership structuring, and financing the project utilizing tax exempt bonds and the syndication of 4% LIHTC.
• Represented Chobani in connection with the more than $500 million expansion and redevelopment of its La Colombe production facility, including strategic real estate acquisitions and development-related matters supporting the client's continued growth and operations.
• Serves as ongoing development and real estate counsel to Edward Rose & Sons in connection with multifamily and mixed-use development projects across the United States, including acquisitions, entitlements, development agreements, easement and access agreements, and operational arrangements for integrated mixed-use communities.

• Represented Edison Community Partners in the development of William Schma Recovery Housing, a first-of-its-kind recovery housing community in Kalamazoo involving a significant and varied capital stack, complex public-private financing arrangements, brownfield redevelopment, LIHTC, and other affordable housing incentives.
• Represented Edison Community Partners in the RAD conversion, redevelopment, and expansion of Centennial Arms I & II, an affordable housing community developed in partnership with the City of Evart Housing Commission.
• Represented Edison Community Partners in the redevelopment of a former Kmart site into Riverbend at Capital, a mixed-use affordable housing and community development project.
• Represented Edison Community Partners in the development of The Legacy Senior Living, an affordable senior housing community developed in partnership with local faith-based organizations and community stakeholders, utilizing state and local incentives and a twinned 4% and 9% LIHTC execution.

• Represented developer in all aspects of a $50M ground-up development of a workforce housing project involving tax-exempt bond financing, the syndication of low-income housing tax credits and multiple other debt sources, which was awarded the real estate deal of the year in 2023 by Crain’s Grand Rapids Business

• Represented developer in the acquisition, rehabilitation and preservation of a $200M portfolio of affordable housing properties

• Represented developer in the financing and construction of a portfolio of senior housing projects using debt and equity raised through the syndication of low-income housing tax credits and HUD 221(d)(4) construction financing

• Advised a national banking institution in connection with financings of federally subsidized housing projects and resyndication of low-income housing tax credits

• Counseled media and publication corporation in connection with its national real estate holdings and leasing program

• Represented major healthcare system in connection with the financing, leasing, and development of a new medical office campus

• Represented a national loan servicer in connection with the management, sale positioning, and disposition of multifamily properties, both in the traditional market sale context and in auction sales

• Represented international food production corporation in its national office and facility leasing program

• Represented developer in a public-private partnership transaction involving the financing and construction of a 300,000 square-foot mixed-use residential and retail condominium project in downtown Boise, Idaho

• Represented a Michigan-based developer of a 200,000 square-foot mixed-use commercial building anchored with a credit tenant lease, including all aspects relative to the procurement and assemblage of land, negotiation of easements and entitlements, leasing, financing, and obtaining economic development incentives

• Represented a Michigan-based developer in connection with numerous refinancing and restructuring transactions associated with affordable housing preservation and repositioning efforts

Prior Experience

• Ice Miller LLP, Associate, 2005-2010 

Education

Admissions

Awards

• The Best Lawyers in America, 2025-2027
  • Recognized in practice area of Land Use and Zoning Law
• Michigan Super Lawyers, Recognized as a Rising Star, 2011-2019

Professional & Community Involvement

Michigan Housing Council

• Board of Directors, 2022-present

International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

• West Michigan Next Gen Committee

Indianapolis Bar Association

• Bar Leader Series Graduate

State Bar of Michigan

• Real Property Law Section

Kalamazoo Nature Center

• Board of Trustees, 2015-present

Portage Education Foundation

• Board of Directors, 2015-2020

News

Press Releases

Events

Alerts

Publications