UIHC revenue bonds approved to fund new North Liberty facility
The state Board of Regents approved the University of Iowa’s Hospitals and Clinics’ revenue bonds totaling more than $300 million on Wednesday.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson, CEO of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Suresh Gunasekaran, Board of Regents President Mike Richards, and others break ground with shovels during a groundbreaking ceremony at the North Liberty University of Iowa hospitals and clinics construction site on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021.
January 11, 2022
The state Board of Regents unanimously passed the sale of two University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics bonds on Tuesday.
The vote provides the sale, award, and issuance of two Hospital Revenue Bonds. The regents’ Chief Business Officer Brad Berg said the bonds will help finance the new hospital facility in North Liberty.
UIHC broke ground on the North Liberty facility in October. At the ground breaking ceremony, UI President Barbara Wilson said the new hospital will help the university fulfill its goals of teaching, research, and education.
The $395 million facility is 60 acres and will include 48 patient beds, 21 emergency care rooms, 16 operating rooms, 96 clinic exam rooms, a pharmacy with 24/7 drive-through services, and research and educational spaces.
Elizabeth Bergman from Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors LLC, the regents’ municipal advisor, said she was pleased with the “incredibly successful” bonds sale for UIHC.
The first bond series was nearly $201.8 million and had six bids. It ended in the hands of Citigroup with a true interest cost of 2.42 percent, she said.
The second bond series was $101.4 million and is a longer-term bond for 35 years. It received four bids. The winner was Bank of America with a 2.99 percent bid.
Bergman told the regents that she was unsure how many more bond sales the regents will have with as low an interest rate as these bonds.
“The combined TIC… was 2.68,” she said. “I think that’s relevant in that the two deals are cumulated up to one financing plan, with having been separated into two separate series to enhance the marketability. Certainly an incredibly successful sale.”
Combined, the bids total more than $303 million. Regents President Mike Richards said the bids were very good and will go to pay a portion of construction costs for certain clinic facilities related to the hospital system, focusing on equipping, installing, and expanding the facilities.
Correction: In a previous version of this story the company name, Citigroup, was misspelled. The Daily Iowan regrets this error.Â