The Board of Trustees of Arkansas State University last week approved a proposal for $28.5 million of revenue bonds for projects at the school’s main campus in Jonesboro.
The request must be approved by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board before the bonds can be issued.
The three-part request includes $16.5 million to build six residence halls, $3.7 million to renovate an existing dormitory, and $8.3 million to refund student-fee revenue bonds issued in 2004 for campus improvements.
Arkansas State’s $185 million of current debt is rated A1 by Moody’s Investors Service.
The residence hall project involves the construction of five sorority houses and a 100-bed hall for the school’s honors program. There are currently two honors dorms.
Four of the sorority houses will accommodate 20 students, and two historically black groups will share the smaller fifth one.
Enrollment in the Arkansas State system is 14,000, of which 3,000 live in residence halls on the Jonesboro campus. The dormitories are at 100% capacity, a school official said.
The proceeds will also finance a new heating and air conditioning system at the 50-year-old Kays Hall, a coed dormitory.
