Collin County, Texas, issued more than $243 million in bonds to build new highways and public parks in the county.
The bonds mature between 2024 and 2043, yielding between 2.73% and 4.04%. They pay interest at 5%. The securities received a rating of Aaa from Moody’s Investors Service and AAA from S&P Global Ratings.
The rating “reflects the county’s very large, affluent, and rapidly growing economy fueled by its favorable location in the northeastern portion of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area,” according to Moody’s.
The issuance comes amid economic growth in Dallas and throughout Texas that surpasses national levels. That growth has been reflected in the soaring property values in Collin County, raising the amount of money that the county can raise through bond issuances. In the past two fiscal years alone, the taxable appraised value of property in the county increased by 25% to almost $200 billion; on a per capita basis, the taxable assessed valuation increased from $143,350 in fiscal year 2021 to $170,854 in fiscal year 2023.
The bonds are general obligations of Collin County, secured by property taxes. The county projects that it will collect $283 million in property taxes this fiscal year.
Collin County is northeast of Dallas and includes part of the city of Plano. The county’s growth has been fueled in part by corporate relocations, including by car manufacturer Toyota, which moved its North American headquarters from Torrance, California, to Plano in 2017.
Jefferies LLC served as lead underwriter on the issuance, purchasing the bonds for $242 million. The price reflected a discount of $1 million.