Smith County, Texas, sold $152 million in bonds to build a new courthouse.
The bonds mature between 2025 and 2048, yielding between 3.32% and 4.48%. They received a rating of AA+ from S&P Global Ratings.
“The rating reflects our view of the county’s expanding tax base, good fiscal management practices and policies, trend of positive operating performance, maintenance of healthy reserves, and manageable debt and pension costs,” S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Jackie Dove said in a press release.
County officials approved contracts for the courthouse and a nearby parking structure in July. Contractors will soon begin working with architects and county officials, and construction on the parking structure is expected to break ground in July. The buildings will be built in downtown Tyler, a city of about 100,000 and the seat of Smith County.
The project will replace Smith County’s current courthouse, which was built in the 1950s with the intention of housing two courtrooms. It currently houses eight courtrooms.
Voters in Smith County authorized $179 million in bonds, including $160 million for the courthouse and $19 million for the parking structure, in a referendum in November of last year.
Smith County is about two hours east of Dallas. The bonds are direct and voted obligations of the county, payable by property taxes.
Jefferies LLC won a competitive bid process to purchase the bonds.