Peter L. Cooper

Peter is an attorney in Taft’s Public Finance and Economic Development practice group. He has over 40 years of experience as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, borrower’s counsel, and development counsel, working with state agencies, municipalities, special authorities, financial institutions, and private for-profit and nonprofit entities to finance a broad range of essential function, governmental enterprise, public-private, and qualified private activity bond projects. Significant projects have included higher education facilities, multifamily affordable housing, joint action agency electric generation and transmission and prepaid natural gas supply, professional sports stadiums, regional parks, and other public projects such as state fairgrounds and historic theaters.

• Bond counsel to a state agency for more than fifty tax-exempt bond financings on behalf of Minnesota private colleges and universities for capital projects, including new STEM buildings, athletic facilities, and a new law school, and the agency’s first issue of green bonds.
• Underwriter’s counsel for issues of University of Minnesota general obligation and special purpose state appropriation revenue bonds.
• Bond counsel to a county housing a redevelopment authority for financing and refinancing of approximately 1000 units of essential function multifamily housing with revenue bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the general government unit, including recovery zone and energy conservation direct subsidy tax credit bonds, and including negotiated tender and restructuring of capital appreciation bonds.
• Bond counsel for a multifamily housing project financed with conduit tax-exempt private activity bonds and low income housing tax credits, with a county housing and redevelopment authority as the managing member of the owner entity and the bonds credit-enhanced with the full faith and credit of the general governmental unit (believed to be the first such financing in Minnesota).
• Bond counsel for creation of nonprofit corporation under joint venture by utilities statute to act as issuer, and issuance for two tax-exempt bond pools to fund loans for local municipal utility capital projects.
• Bond counsel for joint action agency in 30-year tax-exempt bond financing for prepaid natural gas supply for governmental users (believed to be the first such financing in Minnesota).
• Underwriter’s counsel for approximately twenty joint action agency tax-exempt revenue bond issues for electric generation and transmission projects.
• Underwriter’s counsel for revenue bond financing for electric and steam biomass cogeneration project by joint venture of municipal utilities.
• Co-principal drafter of state enabling law for new Minnesota Vikings stadium; underwriter’s counsel for state general fund appropriation bonds to finance public contribution to stadium cost.
• Lead counsel representing ballpark authority for negotiation of development agreement and lease for Target Field.
• Counsel for municipal redevelopment agency for negotiation of development agreement and air rights lease for convention center hotel and development agreement for U.S. courthouse in Minneapolis.
• Counsel to developer for development agreements for LaSalle Plaza multi-use project in Minneapolis and Lawson Commons office building in St. Paul.
• Counsel to tenant and guarantor interests for bond financing, financing lease, guaranty and letters of credit for historic State, Orpheum and Pantages Theatres in Minneapolis.
• Bond counsel to Minnesota State Fair for tax-exempt public bond offering and bank direct placements for capital improvements to State Fairgrounds.
• Counsel to residents group for creation of leasehold housing cooperative and ground sublease from redevelopment agency of city park board-owned property to enable long-term resident control, financing and preservation of historic housing on Nicollet Island in Minneapolis.