Announcement
Boston, MA —
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development authority, announced today it has issued $134.5 million in tax-exempt and taxable bonds on behalf of Emerson College. The proceeds will be used primarily to reimburse the college for previously unfinanced costs it incurred in building The Paramount Center and purchasing and renovating the Colonial Building, as well as miscellaneous future capital improvements. The College will also use bond proceeds to refinance existing tax-exempt debt, saving the school $1 million.
“Emerson College has done wonders in renovating the Paramount Theater and revitalizing the Theatre District and Downtown Crossing, and we’re pleased we can continue to support the school in those endeavors,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Robert L. Culver.
Culver noted that Emerson is rated ‘A-’ by Standard and Poor's and said the debt was sold based on this rating.
In 2006, MassDevelopment also provided an $81 million financing package for Emerson to fund The Paramount Center and the renovation of the upper floors of the Colonial Building.
The Paramount Center project included renovating the historic Paramount Theater and converting it from a movie house to a live performance venue with 590 seats. Other facilities include a 125-seat black box theater, a 170-seat film screening room, nine rehearsal studios, practice rooms, a sound stage, classrooms, faculty and staff offices, and housing for 262 students. Renovation of the upper floors of the Colonial Building provides housing for 357 students.
About the College
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, opposite the historic Boston Common and in the heart of the city’s Theatre District, Emerson College educates individuals who will solve problems and change the world through engaged leadership in communication and the arts, a mission informed by liberal learning. The College has 3,780 undergraduates and 670 graduate students from across the United States and 50 countries. Supported by state-of-the-art facilities and a renowned faculty, students participate in more than 90 student organizations and performance groups. Emerson is known for its experiential learning programs in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, the Netherlands, London, China, and the Czech Republic as well as its new Global Portals, with the first opening last fall in Paris. The College has an active network of 51,000 alumni who hold leadership positions in communication and the arts. For more information, visit Emerson.edu.