The District of Columbia issued $103 million of tax-exempt bonds this week to help finance construction of the first national museum dedicated to telling the story of law enforcement in America.
HJ Sims underwrote the municipal bond deal, which was sold under the D.C. revenue bond program.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial announced on Thursday that construction will start in February with the opening expected in mid-2018.
"Securing the financing will allow us to now complete construction of the museum and share the powerful story of law enforcement with hundreds of thousands of visitors each year," NLEOMF Chairman Craig W. Floyd said in a press release. "We could not have gotten to this milestone moment without the valued assistance of the District of Columbia government, the determined effort of our bond underwriting firm, HJ Sims and, of course, the generous support of our museum donors."
Congress authorized construction of the museum, which will be built on federal land in Washington, D.C., right next to the existing National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Because the museum will be on federal land, the bonds were not secured by a mortgage, but were instead backed by a pledge of revenue from NLEOMF operations.
The $103.13 million of the Series 2016 revenue bonds, National Center for Law Enforcement issue, consisted of three series of non-rated, tax-exempt fixed-rate bonds.
The $48.13 million of Series A bonds consisted of intermediate- and long-term maturities. The $30 million of Series B bonds consisted of two term bonds, which will be repaid from capital campaign contributions raised in support of the museum. The $25 million of Series C bonds are subordinate to the Series A and B bonds.
"HJ Sims is honored to have led the financing to establish the National Law Enforcement Museum," Aaron Rulnick, Managing Principal with HJ Sims, said in the release. "Our entire firm has been dedicated to ensuring a successful and solid financing for the NLEOMF to make its vision of the museum a reality and to fulfill its role of being a vital resource for the law enforcement community and the public."
The NLEOMF plans to raise an additional $25 million over the next few years to fund the museum's ongoing operating and maintenance costs, and to retire some of these newly issued construction bonds.
