$108M in Bond Financing Approved for White Plains Hospital

WHITE PLAINS-Westchester County's Local Development Corp. approved bond financing of up to $108 million on Monday evening to help finance an expansion and renovation project at White Plains Hospital.

The LDC Board voted unanimously in favor of the bond financing sought by the hospital, which will cover approximately $89 million in construction costs and $19 million in the refinancing of existing debt. The project is the largest financed by the LDC thus far that was created by Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino in January 2012, but was not officially authorized until recently by the Westchester County Board of Legislators.

Jon B. Schandler, White Plains Hospital president and chief executive officer, also reported that in addition to the expansion and renovation project, the hospital will be moving forward with the $25-million expansion of its Dickstein Cancer Treatment Center. He hopes to be in the ground on a new cancer center building on East Post Road in January 2014.

“Our goal is to do the construction so that we are anticipating trends in health care and not just t catching up,” Schandler said. “That is why view this as a transforming effort for the hospital. When our operating rooms are complete, they will be the most modern in Westchester County.”

He reported to the LDC Board the first phase of the expansion and renovation project totaling $18 million is under way and should be finished by next month. Construction on the remainder of the initiative will likely begin in the next 30 days, he said, with the demolition of the existing hospital lobby off of Davis Ave. that will make way for a new six-story patient care building that will house two medical/surgical floors, family waiting rooms, and 24 new private patient rooms. With a total of 114 private patient rooms, the percentage of private rooms will double. The hospital currently has 30% of its total beds as private rooms; after the project is completed the ratio will rise to 60%.

Other facets of the project include the addition of five new modern operating room suites that will feature state-of-the-art lighting, operating tables, ceiling-mounted equipment, and minimally invasive technology. These new operating rooms will maximize space and minimize turnaround time between procedures, Schandler told the LDC Board. In addition, the project will also include new pre-op and recovery areas, an expanded outpatient radiology center, and a new covered front entrance and lobby, with a glass atrium and a new café. A glass enclosed pedestrian bridge is envisioned, but will be completed only if funds are available, Schandler said.

In total the project involves the addition of 51,000 square feet and the renovation of 14,000 square feet at the hospital and will create 75 construction jobs and between 300 to 400 permanent jobs at the hospital upon completion in two years. A Project Labor Agreement has been signed with the Westchester-Putnam Building and Construction Trades Council and the contractor Gilbane Building Co.

“The investment that White Plains Hospital is making today, thanks to the Local Development Corporation, will deliver state-of-the-art essential healthcare services to Westchester residents for generations to come,” said County Executive Astorino. “This project will also produce a variety of high-wage jobs both during and after construction. This will add to the long-term vitality of White Plains, Westchester and the region.”

The LDC provides financing to non-profits for job-creating construction projects. So far in 2013 it has committed to providing bond financing for construction projects and/or debt refinancing for: Kendal on Hudson $64.3 million); Northern Westchester Hospital ($43 million); Phelps Memorial Hospital ($16 million); and Purchase College Foundation Housing Corp. ($15.1 million).