Westchester County’s Local Development Corporation (LDC) voted preliminary approval to issue $35 million in tax-exempt bonds to finance for renovations and other projects at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers near the Village of Bronxville. The bond financing would be for a period of 30 years.
There are 10 projects that would benefit from the financing. The LDC listed them as:
- Siegel Building renovations;
- Performing Arts Center renovations;
- Bates Building renovations;
- Purchase and renovation of 8 Oak Bend (College President’s Home);
- Building renovation (161 Hampshire Road, Yonkers);
- Hillhouse Building exterior work;
- IT improvements and upgrades;
- Annual capital, IT hardware & infrastructure;
- Athletic building improvements;
- Refinance equipment lease financing.
According to a cost benefit analysis prepared for the LDC, the various projects would generate a one-time sales tax revenue of $45,973 and $5.2 million in sales tax revenue over a 30-year period. It also would generate $81,250 in fees to be collected by the LDC based on the bond sale proceeds. Total benefits for the county would be $5,364,468.
The LDC said, “The contemplated work will enable Sarah Lawrence to build on its long history of providing education services to the Westchester County community. Given the current state of inflation and rising interest rates, without the issuance of tax-exempt bonds, along with the other benefits provided by the LDC, the project will not be economically feasible for Sarah Lawrence.”
According to the LDC, Sarah Lawrence told it that the project will allow for continued operation of the campus that will support 1,733 jobs including 1,532 direct jobs, with $48.7M of earnings, and $102M of economic output in Westchester County annually upon completion.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer praised Sarah Lawrence as a “prestigious liberal arts college has been a pioneer of innovative educational programs since its founding nearly 100 years ago.”
In addition to the bond financing, the college would receive a one-time mortgage tax exemption of $630,000. The net benefit cost ratio for the project would be $8.52 in revenue generated for every $1.00 of assistance from the LDC. It is estimated that the project would create 63 jobs during the construction phase.
Since its inception in 2012, LDC has assisted not-for-profit organizations in securing tax-exempt bond financing totaling more than $1.9 billion.
