The Westchester County Local Development Corp. (LDC) recently approved a $16.2 million bond refinancing for SUNY Purchase that is expected to save the college about $2 million over the next 20 years.
The state college in 2002 built Alumni Village, an on-campus apartment complex housing more than 400 students, with tax-exempt bonds issued by the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency. SUNY Purchase sought to refinance the bonds to take advantage of current low interest rates.
The state”™s industrial development agencies, however, in 2008 lost their authority to issue bonds for economic development projects by nonprofits. Local development corporations increasingly have taken over that role as an alternative to more costly financing. The county last year formed its own LDC for that purpose.
“This was an opportunity for the county”™s LDC to step in and help save SUNY Purchase close to $200,000 a year in debt service payments,” County Executive Robert P. Astorino said in a press release. “Now that money is freed up and the college can use it for other things like academic scholarships and development.”
Astorino said the LDC enables the county to encourage capital investment and job creation by nonprofits. “It really is a key economic engine that comes at no risk to county taxpayers,” he said.
