Louisiana Bond Commission OKs New Orleans Airport Refunding

DALLAS — The Louisiana State Bond Commission approved a plan Thursday to refund debt used to build a parking garage at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

Up to $40 million of revenue refunding bonds will be issued by Louisiana Community Development Authority for Parking Facilities Corp., which built a 2,500-space long-term parking garage in 2001 with proceeds from a $49.5 million issue.

Raymond James|Morgan Keegan is the senior manager for the issue, which is expected to be priced Aug. 23.

Damon Burns of Raymond James|Morgan Keegan said the refunding will provide $500,000 of annual debt service through 2015. The term of the bonds will be extended by five years with the refunding, he said. Burns said the net present value savings from the refunding will be more than the 3% level established Aug. 14 by the New Orleans Aviation Board.

Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. will insure the revenue bonds. Co-bond counsels are Foley & Judell LLP, Haley Law Firm LLC, and McKee Law Firm LLC.

Solicitations for underwriters and bond counsel will go out immediately for a series of up to $334 million of state revenue bonds to finance rural road reconstruction following the Commission’s acceptance of a one-year project list and a drawdown schedule through 2017.

The 20-year bonds will be supported by 50% of the revenue from fees and taxes on commercial trucks and trailers deposited into the State Highway Improvement Fund. Bond proceeds will finance resurfacing and upgrades to 1,100 miles of state roads in rural parishes.

Commission director Whit Kling said the ultimate sales schedule for the bonds will be determined later, but probably will differ from the proposal for a $100 million bond issue in fiscal 2013, another $100 million sale in fiscal 2014, and a final tranche of $134 million in fiscal 2015.

Kling said that schedule could present an arbitrage schedule if the projects lag too far behind the bond sales.

“It may be more efficient to have a $200 million issue in the first year, no sale in the second, and a $134 million sale in the third year,” Kling said.

Treasurer John Kennedy, chairman of the Commission, said the final tranche should be issues sooner rather than later.

“I don’t want to wait three years to find that interest rates have doubled and construction costs are up,” Kennedy said.

The Commission also approved $65 million of revenue bonds to build flood control and drainage projects in Plaquemines Parish and $10 million of revenue bonds to build a private high school in Baton Rouge. The bonds will be issued by Louisiana Community Development Authority.

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