Mel Glina | Bracewell LLP

Mel is a senior level commercial real estate manager with over 20 years of experience in all phases of commercial real estate and energy transactions including the sale, acquisition and development of industrial and energy facilities, data centers, healthcare, hospitality, office, retail, and mixed-use development facilities; construction contracts; and office and industrial leasing. Mel has had direct oversight responsibility of diligence teams related to the acquisition and development of various project infrastructure, clean energy asset acquisitions, and multiple next-generation data centers acquired for purposes of Bitcoin mining, AI cloud services and other power-dense computing. Her experience includes the review of purchase agreements, title and survey matters, site plans, zoning and permitting issues, including curative and/or encumbrance mitigation work, and all matters uniquely related to project development and digital infrastructure needs. In addition, Mel has led Fortune 100 company national lease audits and has assisted in the debt restructuring of energy companies. Her experience includes contracts management, including oil and gas master service agreements, pipeline agreements, drilling contracts, cell tower leasing and site review, UCC compliance, and other corporate and general transactional matters.

Mel is also a licensed Texas Realtor®, and a member of Houston Association of Professional Landmen. She has been published in and interviewed for various national and state publications such as Legal Examiner and is a guest speaker at CLE programs and forums on the topics of ethics, commercial real estate, and the role of non-attorney consultants in today’s economically conservative legal market. She has served as an adjunct professor teaching real estate law at a local Houston community college system.

*Non-Attorney Consultant

Data center developer and bitcoin mining company

assisted in the negotiation, acquisition and development of multiple next-generation data centers, for purposes of Bitcoin mining, AI cloud services and other power-dense computing. Our representation includes the negotiation and closing of purchase contracts and the review of all title and survey matters, site plans, zoning and permitting issues, including curative and/or encumbrance mitigation work, and advice on issues uniquely related to digital infrastructure needs.
assisted in the negotiation, acquisition and development of multiple next-generation data centers, to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy for purposes of Bitcoin mining, AI cloud services and other power-dense compute. Bracewell’s representation includes the negotiation and closing of purchase contracts and the review of all title and survey matters, site plans, zoning and permitting issues, including curative and/or encumbrance mitigation work.
assisted in transactions and drafting of multiple core agreements with counter-party electric cooperatives regarding energy services for modular data center farm
assisted in various land acquisitions for future data center development
assist with curative title and other land issues related to data center facility (new development)
assisted in the acquisition of 1,800 acres in Texas for development of data center facility
assist with matters related to regulatory advice and guidance on ERCOT regulatory issues
assist in the negotiation of electricity sale and purchase agreement

Argo Infrastructure Partners LP

assisted in the acquisition of 50 percent interest in Brookfield Smoky Mountain Hydro facility. As real estate counsel, the Bracewell team provided due diligence review of four hydroelectric generating facilities located in Tennessee and North Carolina, including appurtenant electric transmission line assets; diligence included review of title, survey, and transmission line map materials, abstracting of easement and license instruments, crossing agreements, condemnation/eminent domain and other site control related issues.

Energy infrastructure investment firm

assisted in the acquisition of a 2,020 MW portfolio of natural gas-fired power plants, including the Jack County Plant, 1,237 MW natural gas-fired plant, the Johnson County Plant, 266 MW natural gas-fired plant, and the R.W. Miller Plant, a 517 MW natural gas-fired plant

Cactus, Inc.

assisted in the approximately $620 million acquisition of FlexSteel Technologies Holdings, Inc. and its affiliates, which is the largest acquisition in Cactus’s 50-year history. As real estate counsel, Bracewell coordinated the real property asset diligence review for all US- and Canadian-owned and leased office and service facilities, including the 250,000-plus square foot manufacturing facility located in Baytown, Texas.

Petrochemical company

assisted in a $206 million synthetic lease facility with Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, and BA Leasing BSC, LLC, as lessor, secured by the corporate headquarters of the lessee and other assets related thereto. As real estate counsel, Bracewell negotiated the creative structuring and execution of the acquisition and asset-based financing instruments, as well as leading the diligence review team for site control and project development matters.

Equinor

assisted in the negotiation of purchase and sales agreements and conditional grant agreements with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in support of the $1.1 billion sale of a 50 percent interest in two US offshore wind development projects to bp, including the formation of a partnership to develop and operate the Empire Wind project offshore New York and the Beacon Wind project offshore Massachusetts, which together could generate up to 4.4 GW

Independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company

assisted in a $273.7 million amended and restated synthetic lease facility

The Kinder Foundation

assisted clients in connection with several major contributions to support greater Houston as a model city for economic opportunity and quality of life by providing transformation grants in the areas of urban green space, education and quality of life

Independent power producer and developer

assisted in all matters of real estate diligence related to the several proposed acquisitions including a large gas-fired energy generation project and significant portfolios of both solar and wind generation projects. As real estate counsel, Bracewell utilized the depth of its diligence team to cross-navigate the review of a very diverse portfolio of energy assets. Our representation included the review of all title matters, surveys, site plans, zoning and permitting matters, restrictions and other encumbrances to owned facilities, including curative removal work for those items having potential consequential effects on current and proposed operations.

Multinational investment bank and financial services company

assisted in Bracewell’s representation as administrative agent in a $5.1 billion project financing to Golden Triangle Polymers Company LLC, a joint venture between Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP (CPChem) and Qatar Energy in connection with the construction of a petrochemical plant on the Texas Gulf Coast. As local real estate counsel, Bracewell identified all potential red flag title, survey, permitting and other site control issues related to the development of the project and, through its close work with the borrower on curative title matters, accomplished an extraordinary reduction in the number of exceptions to the lender’s (and borrower’s) title insurance coverage.

Rockland Capital, LLC

assisted in all matters of real estate diligence related to the acquisition of the 1,165-MW dual-fuel capable power generation facility located in West Haverstraw, New York. As real estate counsel, Bracewell provided due diligence review of dual-fuel capable power generation facility in New York state, including appurtenant natural gas pipeline and electric transmission line assets; diligence included review of title, survey, site plan, and alignment sheet materials, abstracting of leasehold, easement and license instruments, crossing agreements, zoning, water permitting, condemnation/eminent domain and other site control related issues.
assisted in all matters of real estate diligence related to the acquisition of Mid-Georgia Power Facility, a 320-MW dual fuel-fired combined cycle electric facility in Kathleen, Georgia, from an affiliate of Carlyle Power Partners. As real estate counsel, Bracewell negotiated the membership interest purchase agreement and provided real estate diligence and permitting review of the combined cycle power plant and supporting the financing efforts related to the acquisition.
assisted in all matters of real estate diligence related to the acquisition of the Ector County Energy Facility, a 330-MW natural gas-fired power facility located in the ERCOT West Zone in Odessa, Texas, from Ector County Energy Center, LLC, an affiliate of Invenergy LLC

Standard Solar, Inc.

assisted in all matters of real estate diligence related to the acquisition of a 12-MW portfolio of community solar projects located in McGregor, Texas. As real estate counsel, Bracewell lawyers negotiated the purchase agreement and performed a comprehensive due diligence analysis of all project sites within the portfolio, including a review of all site control materials including zoning, permitting, title and survey.
assisted in all matters of real estate diligence related to the acquisition of project companies owning a portfolio of nine community solar projects located in Virginia and a separate portfolio of ten solar projects in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. As real estate counsel, Bracewell lawyers negotiated the membership interest purchase agreements and performed the same comprehensive analysis of all project sites within the related portfolios.

Texas Medical Center

assisted in the development of a 28-acre biomedical innovation and commercialization campus known as TMC3. The facility will be a cooperative development between the medical center and four public medical institutions, including a world-renowned cancer center and a major public university’s health center. Texas Medical Center will also be entering into a participation agreement with a private party for the development, lease and operation of a hotel and conference room facility to serve the Texas Medical Center and the TMC3 project.

Competitive Power Ventures

assisted in all matters of real estate diligence related to the acquisition of a 460 MW portfolio of photovoltaic solar generation projects under development from Belltown Power USA Development LLC, including the 360 MW Prairie Dock Solar project in Illinois and the 100 MW Stonecrop Solar project in Kentucky

Diverxia Infraestructuras, S.L.

assisted in the purchase of membership interests in Potomac Northeast Solar, LLC, a company that has been developing photovoltaic solar power generation projects in Arkansas

Sol Systems

assisted in the acquisition of a portfolio of development stage solar projects located across Hamilton, Randolph, Saline and White Counties in Illinois from Arevon Energy, totaling approximately 540 MW
assisted in the joint venture with Microsoft to develop over 500 MW of solar projects in under-resourced US communities

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