Best examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses in 2025

Real‑world style examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses

Law firm templates are fine, but the best examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses come from the way deals are actually structured on the ground. Below are several realistic scenarios that mirror how U.S. businesses use ground leases in 2024–2025.

Example of a retail center ground lease on long‑term family land

Picture a family that has owned a prime corner parcel for 70 years. They don’t want to sell, but a regional grocery chain wants to build a 60,000‑square‑foot store plus a few small shops.

A typical example of this kind of ground lease agreement looks like this:

• Term: 50 years, with one 20‑year extension option.
• Rent: Fixed base rent per year, plus a percentage rent override if gross sales exceed a negotiated breakpoint.
• Development: Tenant (the grocery operator or its developer) pays all construction and soft costs, and owns the building during the lease.
• Reversion: At the end of the term, the building and improvements automatically transfer to the landowner at no cost.

This is one of the classic examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses where:

• The landowner prioritizes generational wealth and steady income.
• The tenant gets control of a high‑value site without tying up capital in land.

Rent reset language is a big issue in 2024–2025. With inflation and interest rates still higher than the 2010s average, landlords are pushing for CPI‑based increases or scheduled market rent reviews every 10–15 years, while tenants argue for caps so the deal remains financeable.

Hotel on public land: examples include airport and convention center sites

Many cities want hotels near airports or convention centers but don’t want to sell public land. In these deals, examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses often involve a public authority as landlord and a hotel operator or developer as tenant.

A realistic scenario:

• Landlord: Airport authority or city redevelopment agency.
• Tenant: Private hotel developer under a flag (e.g., Marriott, Hilton) via franchise or management agreement.
• Term: 55–65 years, often needed to satisfy lenders and brand standards.
• Rent: Base rent plus a share of net operating income, giving the public entity upside.
• Public policy terms: Local hiring requirements, diversity goals, and sustainability standards (EV chargers, LEED certification) written into the lease.

In 2024–2025, ESG and climate‑risk disclosure requirements are starting to influence these leases. Tenants are being pushed to meet higher energy‑efficiency standards, and some ground leases now address flood risk and resilience measures in coastal or riverfront locations.

For background on long‑term real estate and public entities, the U.S. General Services Administration has helpful material on federal property and leasing structures: https://www.gsa.gov

Build‑to‑suit corporate headquarters on leased land

Another example of ground lease agreement examples for businesses is a corporate headquarters built on land the company doesn’t own. A large tech or life‑sciences company might prefer flexibility, especially if it expects to outgrow the site.

Key features in this style of example:

• The company signs a 30–40 year ground lease with options.
• A developer finances and constructs the campus under a build‑to‑suit agreement.
• At completion, the tenant occupies under a long‑term sublease or direct lease, while the developer assigns the ground lease and improvements to an institutional investor.

Financing drives the legal structure. Lenders want:

• Non‑disturbance protections: If the ground lease is terminated, the tenant’s occupancy rights survive under certain conditions.
• Clear mortgagee protections: Notice and cure periods if the tenant defaults, and the right for the lender to step in.

These examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses show why ground leases are often paired with complex financing documents. The ground lease must be “financeable,” or the project dies on the drawing board.

Industrial and logistics: warehouse and last‑mile examples

E‑commerce growth and reshoring trends keep demand high for industrial land near ports, rail, and highways. Many ports and public authorities prefer to ground lease, not sell.

An example of an industrial ground lease for a logistics park:

• Tenant: Logistics operator or industrial REIT.
• Landlord: Port authority or private landowner.
• Use: Warehouses, cross‑dock facilities, truck parking, and sometimes light manufacturing.
• Environmental: Detailed environmental allocation of responsibility, including who handles existing contamination versus new spills.

These are some of the most negotiated examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses because environmental liability can be a deal‑breaker. Tenants often insist on:

• A baseline environmental report at lease start.
• Landlord indemnity for pre‑existing contamination.
• A clear standard for restoration at lease end.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides guidance on liability and cleanup that often informs these clauses: https://www.epa.gov

Renewable energy: solar and wind farm ground leases

Renewable projects are classic examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses where the tenant’s improvements are extremely specialized.

Imagine a utility‑scale solar farm:

• Landowner: Rancher or farmer with hundreds of acres.
• Tenant: Solar developer backed by tax equity investors.
• Term: 30–35 years, with extension options to match the project’s useful life.
• Rent: Per‑acre rent plus production‑based royalties (for example, a small payment per megawatt‑hour generated).

Examples include:

• Option‑to‑lease periods, where the developer locks up the land while securing interconnection and permits.
• Detailed decommissioning obligations, including removal of panels and restoration of topsoil.

With the Inflation Reduction Act extending and expanding clean‑energy tax incentives, these ground lease examples are increasingly common. Developers need lease terms that satisfy tax credit rules and lender requirements, while landowners want protection if the project never gets built.

The U.S. Department of Energy offers accessible information on renewable project structures and land use: https://www.energy.gov

Quick‑service restaurant and gas station pad ground leases

Smaller pad sites can still carry big legal stakes. A fast‑food brand or gas station operator often prefers a ground lease on a pad within a larger shopping center.

In these examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses:

• The ground lease covers only the pad; the rest of the center is separately owned or leased.
• The tenant builds its own building and signage.
• The lease interacts with a recorded declaration or reciprocal easement agreement covering access, parking, and shared utilities.

A typical example of a key clause here is use and exclusivity. The tenant might demand:

• A restriction preventing a competing brand from opening in the same center.
• Tight control over drive‑thru locations, signage, and traffic flow.

These examples show how ground leases intersect with broader site‑control documents. If the easement agreement conflicts with the ground lease, lenders get nervous, and the tenant’s brand standards may be at risk.

Public‑private partnership (P3) campus and mixed‑use examples

Universities, hospitals, and cities are increasingly using ground leases in P3 models. They keep land ownership while letting private partners develop student housing, medical office buildings, or mixed‑use districts.

A realistic P3 example of a ground lease for student housing:

• Landlord: Public university.
• Tenant: Private developer that designs, builds, finances, and operates a residence hall.
• Term: 40–60 years, aligning with bond or loan amortization.
• Rent: Structured to repay project debt and provide returns, sometimes with a revenue‑sharing component.

These examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses are heavily policy‑driven. Universities may require:

• Affordability targets and rent caps for students.
• Design standards that match campus architecture.
• Reversion of the housing to university control at term end, often debt‑free.

For context on P3 and campus development, many universities publish P3 policies and case studies; Harvard and other institutions often share research on real estate and infrastructure finance: https://www.harvard.edu

Key clauses illustrated through examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses

Seeing how clauses play out in real deals makes them easier to negotiate. Across the best examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses, you’ll see recurring pressure points.

Term length, options, and rent structure

In almost every example of a business ground lease, three questions dominate early negotiations:

• How long is the initial term?
• How many extension options are available, and who controls them?
• How is rent calculated, and how often does it adjust?

Retail and hotel examples include:

• Long terms (50–75 years) to support large upfront construction costs.
• Base rent plus percentage rent tied to revenue.
• Periodic fair‑market‑value resets, sometimes with floors and caps.

Industrial and renewable energy examples often favor:

• Moderate terms (25–35 years) with multiple extension options.
• Rent indexed to CPI or set step‑ups to keep underwriting simple.

Lenders scrutinize these provisions across all examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses because they directly affect project value and refinance risk.

Use, development rights, and approvals

Ground leases are really about control. In many examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses, the tenant wants broad use rights and the freedom to redevelop, while the landlord wants to protect long‑term value and sometimes politics.

Common patterns:

• Retail and restaurant leases: Detailed use clauses, signage rights, and exclusivity protections.
• Hotel and mixed‑use: Requirements to operate under a specific brand or quality level.
• Solar, wind, and industrial: Clear descriptions of infrastructure, access roads, transmission lines, and security fencing.

A well‑drafted example of a use clause will also address:

• Compliance with zoning, building codes, and environmental laws.
• Who handles land‑use approvals and who pays if the project is blocked.

Government and institutional landlords often insist on approval rights over major changes, which can slow projects if not carefully negotiated.

Financing protections and lender rights

If you look at the best examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses that actually get financed, they share a theme: explicit lender protections.

The most common lender‑focused clauses include:

• Right to receive notices of default and cure them.
• Right to step into the tenant’s position if the tenant fails.
• Limitations on landlord’s ability to terminate without giving the lender a long cure window.

These protections show up in nearly all real‑world examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses because without them, banks, bondholders, and tax equity investors typically refuse to fund the project.

2024–2025 trends shaping modern ground lease examples

If your template is older than your smartphone, it’s probably out of date. Several current trends are reshaping how examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses look in practice.

Higher interest rates and inflation

After years of cheap money, higher rates mean:

• Tenants push harder for predictable rent to keep financing models stable.
• Landlords want more frequent rent resets or CPI indexing to preserve real income.

The compromise seen in many 2024 examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses is a hybrid: fixed increases for the first 10–15 years, then periodic market resets with agreed‑upon appraisal procedures and dispute‑resolution mechanisms.

ESG, climate risk, and sustainability obligations

From corporate ESG commitments to local climate ordinances, sustainability is no longer a side note. In newer examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses, you’ll often see:

• Energy‑efficiency standards (for example, LEED certification or local green‑building codes).
• Requirements for EV charging, solar readiness, or even on‑site renewables.
• Flood and wildfire risk planning in vulnerable regions.

These aren’t just feel‑good provisions; they affect insurance costs, financing, and long‑term asset value.

Data centers, life sciences, and specialized uses

Emerging asset classes create new examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses with very specialized needs:

• Data centers: Heavy power and cooling infrastructure, strict uptime standards, and unusual utility easements.
• Life‑sciences labs: Ventilation, hazardous‑materials handling, and strict landlord controls on subleasing or change of use.

These examples require more technical exhibits and coordination with local regulations, especially around environmental and safety compliance.

Practical tips when reviewing examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses

Looking at real‑world style examples is useful, but you still have to mark up your own draft. A few practical guidelines:

• Compare term and rent structure to similar asset types in your market. A 25‑year term might work for a small retail pad but not for a $150 million hotel.
• Check that the ground lease is “financeable.” If you plan to borrow, your lender will demand specific protections that you should build in from the start.
• Map the lease against local zoning and environmental rules. A beautifully drafted example of a solar farm ground lease is worthless if local setbacks or wildlife rules make the project impossible.
• Think about the exit. Many of the best examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses anticipate assignment, sale of the building, or refinancing decades down the line.

And above all, use these examples as a guide, not a cut‑and‑paste exercise. Ground leases run for decades; a shortcut today can become an expensive problem for the next generation of owners.

FAQs about examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses

What are some common examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses?

Common examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses include retail shopping centers on family‑owned land, airport or convention center hotels on public land, industrial warehouses near ports, solar or wind farms on agricultural land, and student housing or medical office buildings developed under public‑private partnerships.

Can you give an example of a simple business ground lease structure?

A straightforward example of a business ground lease is a restaurant chain that leases a pad site in front of a shopping center for 30 years, builds its own building and drive‑thru, pays fixed rent with scheduled increases, and hands the improvements back to the landowner at the end of the term.

How do lenders evaluate examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses?

Lenders look at term length, rent escalations, default and cure provisions, assignment rights, and whether the lease can be subordinated or not. Financeable examples of ground lease agreement examples for businesses usually provide long terms, predictable rent, and clear lender protections so the loan can survive most tenant‑landlord disputes.

Are ground leases only for large developers, or can small businesses use them too?

Small businesses absolutely use ground leases. Real‑world examples include single‑site gas stations, independent hotels, car washes, and fast‑food franchises. The documents may be shorter, but the same issues—term, rent, use, financing, and environmental risk—still matter.

Where can I find more real examples of business ground leases?

You can sometimes find recorded ground leases or memoranda of lease in county land records, and public agencies often publish summaries or term sheets for major P3 projects. For broader context on real estate, public property, and infrastructure, helpful resources include the U.S. General Services Administration (https://www.gsa.gov), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (https://www.epa.gov), and research from universities such as Harvard (https://www.harvard.edu). Always have a qualified real estate attorney review any template before using it for an actual deal.