Staten Island Medical Facility Scores $132M in Bonds
The New York City Economic Development Corporation approved $132 million in tax-exempt bonds to expand and modernize Richmond University Medical Center.
NEW YORK CITY—New York City Economic Development Corporation’s Build NYC board approved $132 million in tax-exempt bonds to modernize the Richmond University Medical Center. The facility is located at 355 Bard Ave. in the borough of Staten Island.
The project received funding from the city with the support of the borough’s president James Oddo, and council members Deborah Rose and Steve Matteo. RUMC is planning ahead to meet the growing healthcare needs of Staten Island residents and to support job growth. The medical center is already one of the borough’s largest employers.
The long-term facility improvement plan will create a new emergency department, expand its operating suites, enhance energy infrastructure and modernize the building. Construction for a 35,000 square-foot emergency department is scheduled to begin in spring 2019. It will offer increased private treatment rooms, state-of-the-art trauma bays, additional support space and specialty areas for pediatrics and urgent care. Cannon Design is the architect and LF Driscoll-Structure Tone is the general contractor. The estimated construction costs for the emergency department is $81.5 million.
“We assist over 60,000 people a year in our level 1 adult trauma emergency department,” says RUMC president and CEO Daniel J. Messina. “Increasing our capacity is critical to ensuring that residents of Staten Island continue to receive the highest level of emergency care during their moments of greatest need.”
Borough president James Oddo says, “Staten Islanders want and deserve state-of-the-art healthcare, and allowing RUMC to continue its mission to deliver a new emergency department facility is critically important to our borough.”
“Richmond University Medical Center is a critical component of our Staten Island health care infrastructure,” said city council member Debi Rose. “In the absence of a city hospital in our borough, Staten Island’s health care system has been severely underfunded for decades.”
Also in 2019, the medical center will begin construction of a co-generation power plant. This new cost-efficient plant will also supply cleaner energy. Its daily output to the hospital is expected to reach over 3,000 kilowatts of electricity in addition to air conditioning and heat.
NYCEDC’s strategic investments group helped facilitate the access of bond financing through Build NYC. The corporation assists 501(c)(3) organizations and other exempt facilities operators in accessing capital through tax-exempt and taxable bond financing. Some of its benefits include interest rates lower than conventional debt options, existing debt refinancing, and waiver of the 2.8% mortgage recording tax.
The facility operates in the building that once housed St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers which closed at the Staten Island location in 2006. RUMC’s website explains that through a series of mergers and affiliations, RUMC was formed in 2007.