REAL ESTATE, LAND USE & DEVELOPMENT • CORPORATE, BUSINESS & BANKING • NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS • TAX ASSESSMENT APPEALS & PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS • CHARTER SCHOOLS
With nearly two decades of experience as a transactional and zoning/land use attorney, Stephanie A. Kobal is a shareholder in the Firm’s Real Estate, Land Use & Development and Corporate, Business & Banking groups. Throughout her career, Ms. Kobal has worked with organizations of all types and sizes to negotiate complex real estate acquisitions, land development and zoning approvals, and leases. She consistently represents clients in front of government agencies and municipalities regarding land use entitlements for real estate ventures. Her practice also focuses on transactional work, including commercial real estate acquisitions and sales, tax assessment appeals, charter and religious schools, for-profit and non-profit contractual matters, organizational issues and investigations.
In the community, Ms. Kobal lends her energy and leadership to help elevate the Lehigh Valley and mentor future local leaders, particularly in the education sector. Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees of Cedar Crest College. She is a past Board Member of the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania, the Parkland School District Education Foundation, the Board of Associates of Cedar Crest College (Past President), the Hillside School and has served as a mentor to Penn State Lehigh Valley students. Additionally, she supports Haven House as a Board Member and is an active member of CREW Lehigh Valley.
In 2025, Ms. Kobal was named to the 2025 GlobeSt. CRE Women of Influence list, which highlights women shaping the future of commercial real estate and their leadership, innovation and impact in the industry. Her support of her commercial real estate clients has helped transform the Lehigh Valley landscape through problem solving and innovative thinking, notably for redevelopment projects:
- Drafted an adaptive reuse ordinance, which provided density and parking incentives to the adaptive re-use and development of dilapidated structures within the municipality
- Drafted an overlay district to permit the transformation of a historic monastery into a resort and mixed use community
- Worked with the municipality for zoning relief for public housing, which has handicapped accessible features and better designed units for expanded families
A native to the Lehigh Valley, Ms. Kobal has based her practice on the core values of strategy, practicality and honesty, which is evident in her relationships with her clients. She understands that each client has its own unique needs and goals, and tailors her approach to fit every individual who approaches her.
In her spare time, Ms. Kobal loves to travel around the world, seeing how land development, design and architecture define different geographies.
EDUCATION
- Pennsylvania State University, B.S. in Marketing and Women’s Studies, 2004
- Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Women’s Studies
- Widener University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2007
- Executive Managing Editor for Widener Law Journal
PROJECTS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Representation with respect to every aspect of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisition, development, financing, construction, and utilization.
- Successfully obtained special exception approval for the expansion of a nonprofit recreation facility.
- Successfully obtained a zoning use variance for a 45,000 square foot industrial sales and service facility in northern Lehigh County.
- Successfully represented a manufacturing client in the acquisition of an aged and non-perfmorning industrial facility from an industrial development authority to return a brownfield site to a manufacturing facility; project included a $52M restoration of a 17-acre plot of land with two abandoned buildings into 173,000 SF of modern manufacturing space; as a result, 277 union construction jobs (211 will be accessible) were created and the manufacturer will create and retain a total of 82 permanent union jobs.
- Regularly appears before townships, boroughs and cities within Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Bucks counties to obtain land development approvals.
- Successfully negotiated a zoning amendment overlay district to facilitate the adaptive re-use of a historic structure.
- Successfully negotiated a zoning amendment for infill development.
- Handles tax exemption hearings on behalf of nonprofit organizations.
- Handles tax assessment appeals for property owners.
- Successfully obtained tax exemptions for several nonprofits in Northampton and Lehigh Counties.
- Successfully negotiated the sale of an iconic Lehigh Valley office structure.
- In 2021, represented clients in the acquisition of over $200,000,000 of industrial, commercial and tenant-occupied properties.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
- Gravel Hill Enterprises, Inc. v. Lower Mount Bethel Township Zoning Hearing Board, 172 A.3d 754 (Pa. Commw. 2017) (en banc).
HONORS & AFFILIATIONS
- Named one of “Commercial Real Estate Women of Influence,” GlobeSt., 2025
- Named one of “Power 30 in Law,” Lehigh Valley Business, 2021
- Selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers – Rising Star Edition, 2017 – 2022
- Named one of “Forty under 40,” Lehigh Valley Business, 2018
- Named one of “Women of Influence” by Lehigh Valley Business, 2017
- Named Local Legal Leader by Lehigh Valley Magazine, 2016 – 2017
- Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal “20 Under 40” Award, 2011
COMMUNITY ACTIVITY
- Cedar Crest College, Board of Trustees, Trustee, 2021 – Present
- Haven House, 2024 – Present
- Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania, Board of Directors, 2023 – 2025
- Parkland School District Education Foundation, Board of Directors, Member, 2015 – 2025
- Board of Associates of Cedar Crest College, Executive Committee, President, 2017 – 2021; Board of Directors, Member, 2015 – 2021
- The Hillside School, Board of Trustees, Trustee, 2019 – 2022
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Bar Association of Lehigh County
- CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Lehigh Valley, Member
- ULI (Urban Land Institute), Member
TESTIMONIALS
“I was first introduced to FLB when my firm bought 425,000 SF Riverside Business Center in 2018 and we needed a local lawyer to handle all our leasing documents. Jane Long was the person with whom we originally worked but after she retired, we eventually started working with Steph Kobal. While we had had a policy of using local leasing lawyers for our various projects up and down the east coast, our relationship with Steph blossomed such that we began to use her for all of our leasing and acquisition work. In that she is also well-versed in land use work, we have used her on these matters in the Lehigh Valley as well. The highest praise that anyone within our firm can offer is when we state that someone feels like a long-term employee of our firm. Steph certainly wears that mantle within our shop, we truly view her as an extension of our firm and there is not a person within our shop that ever hesitates to pick up the phone an seek her advice on legal matters confronting our holdings. Steph is a rockstar in our eyes!” – LARRY J GOODWIN, PRINCIPAL, 1788 HOLDINGS, LLC
CALL DIRECT
610-797-9000, ext. 384
ASSISTANT INFORMATION
Cadece Thomas
610-797-9000, ext. 410
