A New York government authority issued $287 million in bonds to expand the largest hospital in Westchester County.
The bonds mature between 2031 and 2053, yielding between 4.01% and 5.13%. They were sold by the Westchester County Local Development Corporation (LDC) on behalf of the Westchester County Health Care Corporation (WCHCC). The securities received insured ratings of AA from S&P Global Ratings and AA+ from Kroll Bond Rating Agency, and uninsured ratings of BBB- from both the agencies.
“We believe that the enterprise profile will remain stable, and WCHCC’s role as an essential provider in the county will continue to fuel healthy volume growth at the system,” S&P analysts wrote.
The bond proceeds will finance a new patient care tower at Westchester Medical Center’s (WMC) flagship hospital and other capital improvement projects. The five-story tower is expected to add 128 beds to the hospital’s 652-bed Valhalla campus, with construction costs totaling $220 million, according to the official statement accompanying the sale of the bonds.
The LDC calculated that the tower will provide $3.5 million in net benefits over the next 30 years, with sales tax revenue from construction and operations outstripping costs. The project is also expected to create almost 900 jobs, according to the LDC.
“The Patient Care Tower on the Westchester Medical Center campus will be the Hudson Valley’s hub of critical care medicine as it will bring together critical care and medical-surgical specialties in one location, enabling Westchester Medical Center to convert to all private inpatient rooms across the rest of the campus,” Westchester Medical Center Health Network CEO Michael Israel said in a press release.
WMC is the academic medical center of New York Medical College. The bonds are special and limited obligations of the LDC, payable by WMC revenue.
BofA Securities, Inc served as lead underwriter on the issuance, purchasing the bonds for $296.5 million. The price reflected a net original issue premium of $10.8 million and a discount of $1.3 million.