EDC board approves YMCA bond financing

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Economic Development Corporation’s board of directors last week gave approval to bond financing for the construction of an indoor facility at the YMCA of Pawtucket’s MacColl field site in Lincoln.

EDC will issue up to $5 million in tax-exempt bonds to help finance the year-round facility.

The YMCA of Pawtucket currently has 120 full-time positions. EDC said in a statement that employment is expected to increase to 140 at the completion of the project, with an estimated 158 total full-time employees within one year after the project is finished.

EDC will serve as the conduit issuer because the R.I. Industrial Revenue Facilities Corporation is statutorily prohibited from issuing bonds to nonprofit organizations. Additionally, EDC does not assume any credit risk in the transaction.

The YMCA is currently undertaking an extensive, long-term building and renovation campaign for the communities it serves in northern Rhode Island.

The 51,800-square-foot, indoor MacColl facility is the centerpiece of those efforts. The YMCA will also build a water-spray park for children and upgrade two existing buildings on the site to expand its capacity for preschool and teen programming. •