DASNY Approves $1.15 Billion of Offerings

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York gave final and preliminary approval to $1.15 billion of bonds at its monthly board meeting Wednesday.

The largest approval was for $472 million of personal income tax bonds on behalf of New York State. The deal is in addition to a delayed $1.2 billion PIT transaction the state expects to price in September.

The state delayed the larger deal due to its late budget, though the Division of Budget has said the offering and others could go through even if the final budget remains unfinished. Lawmakers enacted a spending budget, but passing the revenue portion has proved elusive. Gov. David Paterson called a special session of the Legislature to address the budget that was to convene Wednesday night.

The underwriter and pricing date for the new PIT deal have not been chosen yet. The proceeds will be used for mental health and other health-related capital projects. DASNY also approved up to $145.5 million of bonds to finance projects on State University of New York campuses.

The authority also gave approval for up to $92.3 million of tax-exempt bonds on behalf of Rockefeller University. The New York City science and medical research institution plans to use the proceeds to create a research center out of two existing facilities and to refund outstanding debt. The bonds will have maximum maturities of 40 years and either be privately placed with JPMorgan or sold publicly with JPMorgan serving as underwriter. Nixon Peabody LLP is bond counsel.

The board also approved $35 million of bonds to be sold on behalf of St. Francis College, a Brooklyn-based institution. The college plans to use the bond proceeds for infrastructure improvements on its campus.

The deal has an unusual wrinkle. The New York City Industrial Development Agency issued $16.5 million of bonds on behalf of the college in 2004. The college agreed in that earlier transaction that it would not grant a security interest in any of its campus property as long as the bonds were outstanding. The IDA said it would not permit the college to undertake the DASNY financing which would further encumber the property, according to DASNY documents. The college is now taking steps to subdivide its property so that the DASNY bonds would be secured by a mortgage on a portion of its property. The deal requires the IDA’s consent.

DASNY approved the private placement of up to $18 million of taxable or tax-exempt bonds on behalf of Cerebral Palsy Affiliates, a group of 24 nonprofits, to build new treatment and residential facilities and refinance mortgages.

New School University and Rochester Institute of Technology received preliminary approval for up to $350 million of bonds and $40 million of bonds, ­respectively.

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