Complex projects need people who have been on every side of the table.

What we bring

Sean Suder started his career in project management for one of the largest privately held construction management companies in the country. As a lawyer and city planner with 25 years in the built environment, and as former Chief Counsel for Land Use and Planning for the City of Cincinnati, he has reviewed projects from the city's chair and delivered them from the developer's. That perspective runs through the firm.

Our knowledge and experience covers city planning, zoning and building codes, public finance, politics, and construction. Getting a complex project across the goal line takes all five.

Project types

• High-rise hotel in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio
• High-rise residential tower in downtown Cleveland, Ohio
• Large multi-unit and senior-living complexes throughout the Midwest
• Retail centers throughout the U.S., including regional malls and lifestyle centers
• Large-format mixed-use developments throughout the Midwest
• Historic adaptive reuse and historic tax credit projects
• Major subdivisions, airports, barge terminals, and mass distribution facilities
• Corporate campuses

Services

• Entitlement strategy and zoning due diligence
• Rezonings, planned developments, variances, and development agreements
• Community and political strategy for contested approvals
• Incentive coordination, including community reinvestment areas and tax credits
• Zoning verification letters and reports for purchase, sale, and financing

Recent results

Two hundred fifty new residential units zoned on a high-profile hotel site in Blue Ash, Ohio (2026). A 400-plus-unit rezoning from six years ago now under construction. A community reinvestment area secured for a transformative project in 2026.

ZoneCo is not a law firm. Where a project requires legal representation, ZoneCo professionals who are attorneys may be separately engaged through Suder, LLC in the states where they are licensed. See our terms of use.