Manhattan, Kan. To Price $21M of Bonds and Notes

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DALLAS – Manhattan, Kan., home of Kansas State University, will have about $145 million of general obligation debt outstanding after it issues $21 million of bonds and notes in a competitive sale Tuesday.

The city’s finance director Bernie Hayden is working with Springstead, Inc., of St. Paul, Minn., as financial advisor.  The Wichita law firm of Gillmore & Bell serves as bond counsel.

The deal includes $14.5 million of taxable and tax-exempt notes and $6.6 million of bonds.  The debt will be used for streets and other city infrastructure.

Bids are due by 3 p.m. EST, with delivery expected Dec. 9.

Moody’s Investors Service conferred top MIG-1 ratings on the notes and rated the bonds Aa2 with a stable outlook.

The bonds mature through 2033 with a 2023 call date.

Known as “The Little Apple,” Manhattan is home to 56,069 people at the junction of the Blue and Kansas Rivers. Although Manhattan serves as the county seat of Riley County, the town also occupies a portion of Pottawatomie County.

The city's $3.3 billion tax base grew at an average annual rate of 2.2% from 2007 to 2012, according to Moody’s. Officials attribute the growth to continued development throughout the city.

“Given the presence of major institutions in the region, the city has been somewhat insulated from the broader economic downturn in recent years,” noted Moody’s analyst Tatiana Killen.

Retail, restaurant, and residential redevelopment on the north side of the city's downtown are expected to fuel continued growth. The city is building and will operate the Flint Hills Discovery Center Museum. 

The $1 billion, 515,000 square foot Federal Department of Homeland Security National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility is under construction on a site adjacent to the existing Biosecurity Research Institute on the campus of Kansas State University.

The university employs over 6,400 people and enrolls more than 24,000 students.

Ft. Riley, a large military base covering 158 square miles, is 15 miles west of Manhattan and is one of the nation's largest Army posts, with approximately 25,000 civilian and military personnel.

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