Preston Lloyd counsels national, regional and local property owners and developers in connection with commercial real estate transactions, especially matters related to land use and zoning, economic development, historic preservation, public finance and local government law in jurisdictions in Virginia. He assists in aspects of the entire development cycle, from negotiating the purchase/sale of land, to site development, financing and leasing. He is the chair of Williams Mullen's Land Use Practice.
In connection with his diverse land use practice, Preston maintains relationships with local government decision-makers and community leaders. His experience includes obtaining rezonings, special use permits, proffer amendments and other approvals for mixed-use/planned unit developments, retail centers, multi-family and student housing projects, hotels, residential communities, regional mixed-use town centers, data centers, farm wineries and wireless telecommunications facilities. He has assisted regional and national developers in connection with joint ventures and various complex equity and conventional financing structures and has experience with the acquisition, financing and development of multi-family housing intended to qualify for federal low-income housing tax credits. He has represented rural landowners in the drafting and negotiation of conservation easements.
Preston is a leader in promoting the responsible use of land and creating/sustaining thriving communities. He was named the 2014 Young Leader of the Year by the Richmond District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and formerly served as young leaders group chair of ULI Virginia. He regularly is invited to speak on land use topics, including as a guest lecturer at the University of Richmond School of Law and the Mason School of Business at William & Mary, and in connection with continuing legal education programs.
Preston has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for Real Estate Law and Land Use and Zoning Law (2018-present), named among Virginia's "Legal Elite" by Virginia Business magazine (2016-present) and listed by Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars for Land Use/Zoning Law (2017-2021). In 2018, he was named to the 2018 class of Up & Coming Lawyers by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. In 2015, he was named to Style Weekly's Top 40 Under 40 list.
Preston is active in the RVA community. He serves on the board of directors for CARITAS and the Partnership for Housing Affordability. He was selected by Leadership Metro Richmond, a community leadership development organization, as a member of their 2016 Leadership Quest Class, and was appointed to the advisory council for Richmond 300, the City of Richmond's APA award-winning master plan update. He was the founding chair of the Young Leaders Society of the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg. Preston also served on Governor-elect Ralph Northam's Policy Council on Commerce & Trade.
Prior to joining the firm, he served as a summer law clerk in the Norfolk Circuit Court and as a governor’s fellow in the Office of Governor Mark R. Warner. Preston received both his law degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and history from the University of Virginia.