DASNY Board Approves Financings for Health Care Public School Districts & Higher Ed Institutions

New York City - - At its monthly meeting here today, the Board of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) approved bond financings and health care facility equipment lease-purchase transactions valued at more than $2.1 billion. Proceeds from these financings will help higher education institutions, public school districts, mental health facilities, and hospitals create jobs and provide critical services to New Yorkers.

The Board gave final approval to the following new financings:

Blythedale Children’s Hospital (Valhalla). The Board approved the negotiated sale of one series of 27-year variable-rate, tax-exempt bonds in an amount not to exceed $30 million. Proceeds from the sale of the bonds are expected to be used to fund various renovations and expansion of the hospital. Lead Manager is Jefferies & Company; Bond Counsel is Hiscock & Barclay, LLP; Underwriter’s Counsel is Hodgson Russ LLP.

Columbia University. The Board approved the negotiated sale of a maximum of two series of fixed and/or variable rate bonds in an aggregate amount not to exceed $117.2 million and in maturities not to exceed 35 years. Proceeds from the sale of the bonds are expected to be used to fund various University-wide construction and renovation projects located primarily on the Morningside Campus, including construction of a new 188,000 square-foot interdisciplinary science building. Lead Manager is JP Morgan Securities Inc.; Bond Counsel is Nixon Peabody LLP; Underwriter’s Counsel is Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP.

New York Law School. The Board approved the negotiated sale of one or more series of variable-rate, tax-exempt bonds in an amount not to exceed $45 million and with a term not to exceed 30 years. Proceeds from the sale of the bonds are expected to be used to construct Phase 2 of the school’s new academic building and to renovate existing classroom and office space. Lead Managers are Shattuck Hammond Partners, a division of Morgan Keegan & Company; Bond Counsel is Nixon Peabody LLP; Underwriter’s Counsel is Arent Fox PLLC.

Building Aid Revenue Bond Program (School District Financing Program). The Board approved the negotiated sale of multiple series of tax-exempt bonds in varying maturities not to exceed 30 years and in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1 billion. Proceeds from the sale of the bonds are expected to be used to finance capital projects in various public school districts throughout the state and to refinance the Bond Anticipation Notes of school districts, which used them to finance capital projects in anticipation of permanent funding.

The Board approved the following single-approval financing resolution:

Personal Income Tax Revenue Bond Program. The Board approved the negotiated sale of one or more series of tax-exempt and/or taxable fixed-rate and/or variable-rate interest bonds for terms not to exceed 30 years and in an amount not to exceed $625 million. Proceeds from the sale of the bonds are expected to be used to fund capital projects for the state Office of Mental Health (OMH), Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), and Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS); capital projects for OMH, OMRDD and the OASAS voluntary agencies; and capital projects for the City University of New York (CUNY). Bond Counsel is Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP. Lead Manager and Underwriter’s Counsel to be determined.

The Board approved the following amended resolution to proceed with a new financing:

Yeshiva University. The Board approved an amended resolution to proceed with the negotiated sale of fixed-rate, tax-exempt bonds in an amount not to exceed $145 million with a term not to exceed 30 years. Proceeds from the sale of the bonds are expected to be used to refund all or a portion of the University’s Series 1998 bonds and to reimburse a portion of the costs of acquiring the Price Building as well as to fund the construction and renovation of the Glueck academic building and to construct and equip an information technology center. Lead Manager is JP Morgan Securities Inc.; Bond Counsel is Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP; Underwriter’s Counsel is Nixon Peabody LLP.

The Board approved the following resolution to proceed with a new financing:

St. Lawrence University (Canton). The Board approved the conversion of Letter of Credit-backed, variable-rate demand bonds to unenhanced fixed-rate bonds in an amount not to exceed $46.8 million with an intermediate term of between five and 10 years to terminate the existing RBS Citizens NA Letter of Credit as the primary source of repayment.

The Board approved the following Tax-Exempt Equipment Leasing Program (TELP) resolutions:

State University of New York University Hospital Medical Center at Brooklyn. The Board approved a lease-financing transaction of $20 million that will enable the medical center to acquire high-tech equipment for its Cardiology, Nursing, Radiology and Oncology departments. Equipment acquired through lease-sublease financing under the Authority’s TELP program will be owned by the medical center after all outstanding lease payments are made.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The Board approved a lease-finance transaction of $75 million that will enable the medial center to acquire cutting-edge equipment for its Information Technology, Laboratory, Surgical, and Radiology departments. This program offering under TELP is the first of its kind where the Medical Center has presented its entire capital equipment budget for financial consideration. Technology acquisition for the Medical Center is anticipated in tranches suitable to the procurement and funding schedule of the Medical Center’s various businesses and caregiving units. Equipment acquired through lease-sublease financing under the Authority’s TELP program will be owned by the medical center after all outstanding lease payments are made.

The Board is scheduled to meet next on May 27 in Albany.

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The Dormitory Authority, founded in 1944, is the largest higher education, health care and public-purpose bonding and construction authority in the nation. The Dormitory Authority has a construction pipeline of 730 projects valued at $7.4 billion. The Authority has an outstanding bond portfolio of more than $38 billion.