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Council Committee acts on Executive’s proposal to refinance bonds at Harborview building to take advantage of lower interest rates
Summary
King County would save money for its tenants at the Patricia Bracelin Steel Building on the Harborview Medical Center campus by refinancing the construction debt at a lower interest rate, under a proposal from King County Executive Dow Constantine that was recommended for passage this week by a Metropolitan King County Council committee.
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King County would save money for its tenants at the Patricia Bracelin Steel Building on the Harborview Medical Center campus by refinancing the construction debt at a lower interest rate, under a proposal from King County Executive Dow Constantine that was recommended for passage this week by a Metropolitan King County Council committee.
“The savings from lower interest rates will translate to lower lease payments for UW Medicine, which operates Harborview under an agreement with King County, and support the long-term sustainability of health care services there,” said Executive Constantine.
“The silver lining of a weak economy is that well-managed governments, like King County, can take advantage of low interest rates to save the public money,” said Councilmember Joe McDermott, chair of the Council’s Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, which on Tuesday recommended the proposal for adoption by the full Council on September 10.
Under the plan, King County would refinance up to $56 million of the existing debt on the Patricia Bracelin Steel Building, saving about $600,000 per year over the life of the new bonds. The savings would be passed on in the form of lower lease payments by Harborview for the clinics and administrative offices it houses there.
Refinancing of the existing bonds would also dissolve the non-profit entity that was specially created to develop the project, and transfer formal title to the County. The interest rate on the new bonds would be established at the time of sale later this year.
The Patricia Bracelin Steel Building is located two blocks east of Harborview Medical Center, and is named for the former King County budget director, chief financial officer and deputy county executive whose service to the people of King County spanned nearly 30 years until her death in 2002.
Harborview Medical Center is owned by the people of King County and managed and operated by the University of Washington through UW Medicine.
