Jeffrey A. Bomberger

Jeff Bomberger practices primarily in complex public-private structured real estate development finance transactions and other structured economic and community development projects and programs.

He has long been a leading counsel to Ohio port authorities, has created or implemented numerous innovative port authority initiatives and has been involved in many efforts resulting in the expansion of port authority roles in economic development and development finance, an expansion that has transformed economic development efforts in Ohio and made port authorities essential players in such efforts.

As special and bond counsel to a local county port authority, Jeff provided counsel on implementation and contracting for construction, management and tax-exempt financing of a 150+ mile, publicly owned, county-wide fiber optic network to provide dark and lit fiber for neutral-platform transport to both public and private end-users, with last-mile capability.

Services provided have included drafting and negotiating contracts for construction and management by a private partner, a dark fiber IRU to the private partner with non-compete protections, a lease to a separate nonprofit partner to “split” the network into separate public and private components, a county-supported revenue bond financing and other matters.

In addition to serving as general, special and bond counsel to numerous Ohio port authorities, Jeff regularly acts as bond counsel or special counsel to other public and private clients in structuring or restructuring complex transactions to support client goals.

Examples include developing a unique revenue bond structure secured by state tax credits to capitalize a state-sponsored “fund of funds” to support venture capital investing in Ohio and assisting in developing a public-public-private partnership (P4) financing structure to provide tax exempt financing for a state-sponsored design-build-finance (DBF) transportation asset procurement in Ohio.

Since 2003, Jeff has served as special and bond counsel to a 28-member public educational “council of governments” on matters related to its 235+ mile fiber optic network. This network is publicly owned and operated and provides services to its members and other education providers.

Services provided have included drafting and negotiating a three-party lease-to-own structure for a portion of the network to be owned by an Ohio port authority for lease to a private partner for commercial development, a lease-refinancing arrangement with a separate port authority, multiple lease financings for network hardware upgrades, substitution of a new private partner and multiple supplemental lease arrangements to enable development, and a three-party over-lash arrangement to permit a private telecom utility to utilize pole attachment rights to install new fiber owned by client and used by client to extent necessary to “refresh” network, with balance of fiber subject to IRUs to commercial partner and telecom utility.

Jeff is currently co-leader of the Economic & Community Development team within the firm’s Public & Infrastructure Finance Practice Group, has been a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers and, since 2006, has been continuously listed in The Best Lawyers in America.