The New York City Trust for Cultural Resources is preparing to sell up to $85 million ofbonds for two notable Manhattan not-for-profits.
According to legal notices published this week, the trust will hold public hearings onthe sale of $25 million for the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation on Oct. 15 and $60 millionfor the Pierpont Morgan Library on Oct. 22.
The Pierpont Morgan Library, which was founded by the son of Wall Street financier
J. Pierpont Morgan, expects to sell the bonds by the end of this year, according toGlory Jones, a spokeswoman, who said the full amount would likely be less than the $60million authorized. The long-term bonds will help finance a $100 million expansion andrenovation that has already begun and should be complete by 2006.
Jones said the bonds would likely be variable rate and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. andMorgan Stanley are underwriting the deal. Both firms derive their names from the Morganfamily's original banking operation. She said the library, which is located in landmarkbuildings at 36th St. and Madison Ave., chose to sell the debt through the trust becauseof the "flexibility" it offered as well as the "experience it has with first-timeissuers."
The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation is selling up to $25 million of bonds through the trustin order to help finance the construction of a new headquarters at 55th St. and 9th Ave.The foundation, which operates the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, broke ground onthe building last fall and expects to complete it next year.
The total cost of the 77,000 square foot building, the foundation said in a pressrelease, is $54 million and is being financed in part with a $66 million capital andendowment campaign. The project includes the Joan Weill Center for Dance, named for thewife of Sanford Weill, chairman of Citigroup, who along with his wife donated $15million.
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's office controls the Trust for CulturalResources, and the New York City Industrial Development Agency helps administer itsoperations. According to Thomson Financial, the trust has become a more frequently usedvehicle for bond sales in recent years, selling $258 million of bonds in 2001 and $181million in 2000.
Last year, the trust sold two deals - $41.6 million for Carnegie Hall and $40 millionfor the New York Botanical Garden. According to a section in the official statement fromthe Carnegie Hall deal, "The Trust is authorized to issue bonds, notes, and otherobligations in order to finance the development of the institutional portion ofcombined-use facilities and cultural facilities for participating culturalinstitutions."
Salomon Smith Barney, which is now known as Citigroup Global Markets, was leadunderwriter on the Carnegie Hall deal, which consisted of 30-year insured auction-ratesecurities. Weill is also chairman of Carnegie Hall.
