Burke Lewis, Principal

Burke S. Lewis is a principal and general counsel to HRE. Prior to joining HRE, he practiced commercial real estate law in private practice for twelve years, working with developers, real estate investment trusts, asset managers, and a broad range of other businesses and individuals. His experience includes the acquisition, financing, leasing, management, and disposition of retail, office, multifamily, industrial, and hotel properties. He also has experience with land use permitting and zoning matters. At HRE, he leverages his experience in the daily operations of the company, including the overseeing of new retail development opportunities.

Prior to joining HRE, Burke was a partner at the firm of Kaplan Voekler Cunningham & Frank in Richmond, Virginia. While there, he counseled clients on a broad range of real estate matters, including the acquisition of retail centers and medical office buildings by national REITs, the development of multifamily housing by regional developers, the syndication of tax credits in connection with financing real estate development, traditional bank debt financing for a wide variety of real estate uses, and the negotiation of loan workouts on behalf of borrowers in connection with distressed commercial assets.

Prior to joining Kaplan Voekler, Burke was an associate at McGuireWoods in Richmond and at Davis Graham & Stubbs in Denver. At McGuireWoods, Burke handled land use matters and rezoning properties for residential and commercial uses, as well as the acquisition and disposition of commercial properties, including extensive due diligence work on large-scale industrial sites. At Davis Graham & Stubbs, Burke began his career working with national and regional homebuilders in the development of subdivisions, a national energy company in the development of a wind farm, and a railroad company in connection with the conversion of a 70-mile rail line into a public trail under a “rails to trails” program.

Burke is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English, the University of Virginia School of Law, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree, and the College of William & Mary, where he earned a Master of Business Administration degree.

Burke is a member of the Board of the Greater Richmond Area YMCA and a member of the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers. He is also a guest lecturer at the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business.