Citizens finances Middletown academic center construction

Citizens Bank’s commerical banking arm will provide $45 million in financing to a Middletown private high school to build a new academic center and refinance existing debt, according to an Oct. 30 release.
St. George’s School, a boarding and day school attended by 365 students, will use $25 million of the funding to pay for a new science wing and renovations to convert the existing science building into new classroom space. The remaining $20 million will likely go toward the refinancing of the school’s debt, although spokeswoman Suzanne McGrady declined to confirm details on the deal.
“We worked closely with the school’s management team to understand their needs and to tailor a financial package that met their financial goals,” said Keith Kelly, senior vice president and Rhode Island manager for Citizens Commercial Banking in an email. “We look forward to continuing to work with the school.”
Kelly declined to comment on whether Citizens Commercial Banking, the commercial banking division of Providence-based Citizens Financial Group, often provides financing at this level for similarly sized institutions, only saying that the division serves a broad range of corporate and nonprofit clients.
“St. George’s School has a long tradition of providing the highest level of education to students from Rhode Island and around the world,” Kelly said in the release.
The new wing is expected to be in use in September 2015 when the school year opens, and administrators expect renovations to the existing science building to be complete by December 2015, according to the release. The expansion and renovation are expected to generate 50 construction jobs.
St. George’s last major building project, a renovation of the campus’ Hill Library, was completed in 2011. The school is not currently planning other major capital projects, said Head of School Eric Peterson in an email.
“While the school is not planning a significant expansion of facilities, the new academic center, along with some other renovations of existing buildings will help us to address the need we have had for some time to update many of our classroom spaces,” Peterson said.

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