Mitchell A. Carrel

Mitchell A. Carrel is a nationally recognized land use and zoning attorney who advises public and private companies, developers, investors, and infrastructure sponsors on the siting, entitlement, and development of complex, high impact projects—particularly in the digital infrastructure sector, including data centers and underground fiber optic networks, as well as transportation, logistics, and iconic high rise developments in Chicago and other major U.S. markets.

He regularly serves as the lead “quarterback” for entitlement and governmental approval strategies on nationally scaled digital infrastructure projects, guiding clients through multi-jurisdictional zoning, land use, and regulatory frameworks. He seamlessly coordinates with local counsel and stakeholder teams across the country, providing clients with a single, centralized point of leadership for complex, multi market approval strategies.

Mitch is frequently engaged on projects where regulatory complexity, public infrastructure, and political sensitivity intersect, and is known for securing mission critical approvals, unlocking public incentives, and managing entitlement risk under compressed timelines and heightened public scrutiny. His work often involves first of their kind projects or developments requiring careful navigation of community engagement, sustainability considerations, and evolving regulatory standards.

In his practice, Mitch serves as a strategic partner to chief legal officers, general counsel, and investment principals, helping them anticipate entitlement risk, coordinate multidisciplinary teams, and translate legal and regulatory issues into actionable business decisions. He regularly leads approval strategies before plan commissions, village boards, city councils, and other governmental bodies, and is often called upon to manage projects or matters involving significant public, political, or reputational exposure.

Mitch previously served as interim national land use counsel to Clear Channel Outdoor America during its nationwide digital billboard transformation. Prior to joining SGR, he was a shareholder and led the Land Use Group at Vedder Price P.C. in Chicago. He is also a co-founder of Proxfinity, an award-winning Chicago based data and technology company. Having operated on both the client and legal sides, he brings a practitioner’s perspective on how regulatory, entitlement, and community engagement strategies directly affect deployment speed, scalability, and enterprise value at the intersection of law, business, and data.

Mitchell's Practice

Representative Matters

• Quarterbacked zoning, land use, entitlement, and related governmental and private approvals for numerous data center projects nationwide, including acquisitions and joint ventures involving multi‑market data center portfolios, serving as lead entitlement counsel while coordinating seamlessly with local counsel across jurisdictions.
• Obtained all required entitlements, lakefront protection approvals, and financial incentives to redevelop 350 East Cermak Road into Chicago’s first carrier hotel and one of the world’s largest and most significant multi‑tenant /colocation data centers (100 MW; 1.1M+ square feet).
• Collaborated with the City of Chicago to amend the Chicago Zoning Ordinance to formally permit data center uses and to develop the City’s first dark fiber conduit path use agreement allowing private (non-CLEC) infrastructure within public rights‑of‑way.
• Led national entitlement, permitting, and regulatory approval strategies for private equity sponsors, telecommunications companies, and infrastructure platforms developing intra‑ and inter‑state underground dark fiber and wide‑area fiber‑optic networks, coordinating approvals, licensing, and public‑way access across multiple states and municipalities.
• Led multidisciplinary teams assisting telecommunications infrastructure platform companies with strategic acquisitions and growth initiatives, including transactions designed to accelerate expansion and operational scale.
• Served as interim national land use counsel to one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in the U.S., acting as centralized lead for its transformation from static to digital signage through master development agreements and localized approvals nationwide.
• Led land use and zoning approvals for numerous iconic high‑rise and mixed‑use developments in Chicago, including projects along and adjacent to the Magnificent Mile and in Streeterville with combined values exceeding $2 billion.
• Led multidisciplinary team representing a national railroad company in connection with entitlement oversight and street vacation matters and the sale of air rights above active rail operations, enabling construction of a 750‑foot Class-A office tower in downtown Chicago.
• Represented numerous manufacturing, logistics, and transportation clients on land use and zoning approvals and strategies for large‑scale industrial, warehousing, and distribution facilities.
• Represented hospitals and specialized healthcare operators on expansion projects involving land use, public‑way, and regulatory approvals throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
• Secured City Council approvals for complex underground digital infrastructure conduit and fiber‑optic placements beneath Chicago streets and major public infrastructure projects, enabling efficient and scalable telecommunications networks.