FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Wednesday, June 27, 2007
DASNY Board approves financings for Health Quest and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1 TELP lease for New York and Presbyterian Hospital, and its annual Authority Budget Office (ABO) report
ALBANY, N.Y. – The Board of the Dormitory Authority met today at its corporate headquarters in Albany and approved the following two financings and 1 TELP lease:
Health Quest Systems, Inc. Obligated Group. The Board approved an issue of three or more series of 30-year tax-exempt and taxable fixed and/or variable rate bonds not to exceed $74 million. The purpose is to construct a new five-story building at Putnam Hospital Center to house 70 medical/surgical beds, as well as purchase and install a linear accelerator, and other renovations for approximately $37 million. In addition, Health Quest plans to refund and refinance loans for $29.6 million for Vassar Brothers Medical Center and North Dutchess Hospital, members of the Obligated Group. An additional $5.8 million will be used for equipment purchases at the two institutions. Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc. is the lead manager of this negotiated offering. Nixon Peabody LLP is the Authority’s bond counsel, and the underwriter’s counsel is Hawkins Delafield & Wood, LLP. Expected sale date is the week of July 23, 2007.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Board approved a bond issue not to exceed $141 million in a 30-year fixed rate tax exempt 2007 Series. Projects include a $70 million renovation of the 102nd Street parking garage into a multi-use facility to include outpatient, imaging, diagnostic, research, laboratory and administrative facilities; $11.8 million renovation of the Atran-Berg Laboratory; a $25.6 million renovation of the Annenberg Building, as well as $9.7 million for various capital improvements, utility upgrades, etc. In addition the medical school will refund its 2000 Authority tax-exempt commercial paper notes for $22.6 million. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is the lead manager for this negotiated sale. Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is the Authority’s bond counsel, and Hawkins Delafield & Wood, LLP is the underwriter’s counsel. At this writing, the Authority expects to sell the bonds during the week of July 16, 2007.
In other financing action, the Board approved a $24.5 million tax-exempt equipment leasing program (TELP) deal for New York and Presbyterian Hospital for various medical equipment, and refinancing of existing capital leases.
Pursuant to the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005, the Authority Board also adopted its annual report to the Authority Budget Office. This information in the Annual Reports/Financial Information section, which also contains past annual reports, operating budgets and other financial information.
The Board’s next meeting will be at 9:30 a.m. July 25, 2007 at its corporate headquarters in Albany.
Contact: Press Officer, Marc Violette at (518)257-3382 or mviolett@dasny.org or Marilyn Fountain, Assoc. Manager of Comm. + Marketing at (518) 257 3388, or Marilyn Fountain.
The Dormitory Authority, founded in 1944, is the largest higher education, health care and public-purpose bonding and construction authority in the nation. During the past five fiscal years the Authority has issued more than $23.6 billion dollars in capital for its clients and has expended more than $4.3 billion on construction projects that it manages. The Authority has a current construction pipeline of 675 projects valued at $5.7 billion. In addition to the $4.3 billion in construction the Authority has put in place over the past five years, the Authority’s financings during that same period have funded more than $7 billion in new projects that have been managed by its clients. DASNY has an outstanding bond portfolio of more than $34.2 billion.