Hays Campus rendering by Gensler
Austin Community College has decided to issue $45 million in bonds for the construction of its campus in Kyle. ACC news release:
The Austin Community College District Board of Trustees has approved the issuance of lease revenue bonds for Hays Campus. The action finalizes the financing for construction of the campus in Hays CISD.
“This allows ACC to take major steps forward, and we are now on the road to breaking ground,” says Ben Ferrell, executive vice president for finance and administration. “We are extremely pleased with the terms of the bonds and look forward to getting the campus under construction.”
The bond issuance will be approximately $45 million, with $10 million to cover the cost of the 96-acre land purchase in Kyle and associated fees. The remaining $35 million will constitute the project budget. ACC secured an interest rate of 4.17 percent, the lowest for a construction project in the college’s history.
“The interest rate is a great benefit to the college and a reflection of our strong fiscal position,” says Ferrell. “While the legal challenge recently resolved in the college’s favor led to a smaller bond issuance than originally planned, this campus will deliver on all of the college’s promises to Hays CISD voters. It will be a source of pride for both ACC and the community.”
With the budget for the project set, ACC next will negotiate a contract with the construction manager-at-risk, Flintco Constructive Solutions. The college expects to break ground in late summer or early fall. When the groundbreaking is determined, the college will be able to set a projected opening date for the campus.
The bonds received an AA rating from Standard & Poor’s and an Aa2 rating from Moody’s. The rating agencies cited factors including ACC’s history of sound financial performance, growth in the district’s tax base, and continued demand for college offerings.
The college also issued a construction update:
The design development phase was completed in late March. The architectural firm Gensler issued a package of full-size design development review packages at the 50 percent and 100 percent complete level for ACC departmental review and comment. Gensler addressed all comments and made revisions. The college submitted the 100 percent drawings to the Plum Creek Architectural Review Committee for review and comment. We are awaiting a response from that group.
Flintco, the construction manager, concurrently compiled conceptual budget estimates for both the 50 percent and 100 percent packages. Both estimates were over budget, so the design team developed a “shopping list” of value engineering options to reduce costs. ACC, Gensler, and Flintco will identify the best options to bring the project back into budget. We have developed three alternative packages to be considered should the actual construction budget yield favorable results once bidding is completed.
Once the budget is resolved, Gensler will begin the final phase of design/construction documentation. During this phase, Gensler will continue to add detail in the drawings to refine the scope of work until the set is 100 percent complete. This phase will last until July. Gensler will deliver these drawings to Flintco for construction.
Flintco also will develop an initial guaranteed maximum price (iGMP) for the project. Bidding of the 100 percent design development package will be used as the basis for pricing. We will thoroughly review, then revise the iGMP document, as needed. Following completion, ACC will sign the final GMP, which sets the project construction budget.
Once the GMP is signed and bonds are closed, the college will submit construction documents to the City of Kyle as part of the site development and building permit processes. We expect bonds to close about May 2, and permits to be completed by early August.
Once the bonds have been closed, we can commit to a groundbreaking date. We will release this information in the next construction update.
