N.Y.C. IDA Approves $325.3 Million, Most for Yankee Stadium Garages

The New York City Industrial Development Agency and the New York City Capital Resource Corp. yesterday approved up to $325.3 million of bonds at its monthly board meeting, including $225 million of bonds for three parking garages to serve the new Yankee Stadium currently under construction in the Bronx. The bonds will be underwritten and privately placed by Roosevelt & Cross Inc. The project will create 3,600 new parking spaces at the garages and renovate 5,569 existing spaces at a projected cost of $295 million. Additional funds will come from New York state. Neither a lease agreement with the developer, Bronx Parking Development Co. — a subsidiary of the nonprofit Community Initiatives Development Corp. — nor a feasibility study have been finalized, IDA staff said. IDA executive vice president Seth Pinsky said he expected a transaction to take place within weeks. The bonds will have multiple maturities and the longest would match the lease term, which is expected to be 43 years, he said. Annual rent paid to the city is expected to be $3 million. The bonds will be backed by revenue from the parking garages which are expected to charge up to $25 per car during games. This year, the Yankees played 81 home games during the regular season. That would mean the garages, if full, could generate at least $229,225 per game and more than $18.6 million per season, based on the number of games played this year. The plan originally envisioned four parking garages, but one was removed after the state’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced it would build a Metro North station serving the stadium. The BPDC is now in talks with another developer to sublease the fourth lot for development of a retail or mixed use, Pinsky said. “There will be a development on the site but it won’t be a part of the parking project; the revenues from that will go into the parking project and help pay the bonds,” Pinsky said. The IDA doesn’t know what the development will be, he said. The board vote on the project was scheduled for last month’s meeting but was postponed after several board members requested more information. The CRC approved one issuance yesterday of up to $40 million of bonds to be sold on behalf of the Village Center for Care to finance the construction of a nursing home facility in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, that will replace an existing nursing home. Banc of America Securities LLC will underwrite the 30-year bonds and Bank of America NA will provide a letter of credit. The bonds will be sold as variable-rate debt and the borrower will enter into a fixed rate swap agreement with Banc of America. In addition, the IDA approved a deal for Congregation Darchei Torah, a nonprofit private boys school. The congregation plans to use the proceeds of $30 million of tax exempt bonds to finance the construction of an approximately 160,000 square foot building in Far Rockaway, Queens, and to refinance $2.7 million of outstanding taxable debt that was used to finance capital projects. George K. Baum & Co. will underwrite the bonds, which will be sold as variable rate. The underwriter expects the bonds to price in the next three and a half months, before the state law authorizing IDAs to sell bonds for nonprofit facilities expires. HeartShare Human Services of New York, a Brooklyn-based human services agency affiliated with the Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, plans to use the proceeds of $10.3 million of tax-exempt and taxable bonds to finance and refinance outstanding debt associated with the renovation, furnishing, equipping, and purchasing facilities used for skills training for people with developmental disabilities and administrative offices. A taxable series with a par of $8.3 million will have a 15-year maturity and a $1.9 million taxable series will have a five-year maturity. HSBC Bank USA NA will provide a letter of credit and also directly purchase the bonds. Winston & Strawn LLP is bond counsel. Prager, Sealy & Co. will underwrite the bonds. The board also approved $20 million of tax-exempt, fixed-rate bonds on behalf of Peninsula Hospital Center in Far Rockaway, Queens, which plans to use the proceeds to finance and refinance capital improvements that include the construction of a cardiac laboratory and expansion of dialysis services. Roosevelt & Cross is underwriting the 30-year bonds and privately placing them with Cohen & Co. Nixon Peabody LLP is bond counsel.