Denver will head to the municipal market next week with its biggest new money general obligation bond sale ever at $366.4 million.
The tax-exempt and taxable voter-approved bonds, which carry three triple-A ratings, will be offered for competitive bidding on April 19 in three series after the city council gave the green light to the issuance on Monday.
“We feel that the competitive sale option offers the cleanest and most cost efficient mechanism for sale and ultimately the accountability to our taxpayers,” Guadalupe Gutierrez-Vasquez, Denver’s cash and capital funding director, said on Tuesday.
She added that the inclusion of taxable debt will give the city flexibility with certain projects, which primarily involve homeless shelters.
“Because there is a potential to enter into partnerships with nonprofit entities, we want to make sure we allow maximum flexibility and not create any tax or (Internal Revenue Service) issue,” she said.
Tax-exempt series A bonds totaling $246 million carry maturities from 2022 through 2039 and are part of a $937 million Elevate Denver debt program approved by voters in 2017, according to the preliminary official statement.
Series B tax-free bonds totaling $81.7 million are due between 2022 and 2042 and $38.6 million of series C taxable bonds mature between 2022 and 2027. Series B and C bonds are from a $260 million RISE Denver bond program passed by voters in 2021.
Bond proceeds will support nearly 80 voter-approved projects, including 188 shelter beds, improvements to cultural centers and new and improved parks and playgrounds, as well as accessibility, transportation, and mobility projects, according to a statement from Mayor Michael B. Hancock’s office.
The mayor said the issuance of the bonds “will generate tens of thousands of job opportunities, hundreds of millions of dollars in labor income for our residents, and significant sales activity for our business community.”
”And at this critical time, we’re using our bond funding to support our housing initiatives, one of the most important issues facing our community,” he added.
The deal’s financial advisor is Hilltop Securities, Inc. and bond counsel is Butler Snow.