Cleveland-based MetroHealth System closed the sale of $945.7 million in bonds on Thursday to finance its campus transformation.
The initiative includes constructing a 270-bed hospital, a central utility plant and a parking garage with room for 1,200 to 1,500 cars, among other initiatives. Construction on the parking garage is expected to begin by the end of the summer.
The transformation began two years ago with the demolition of the Northcoast Behavioral Health Care facility and an $82 million expansion of the existing critical care pavilion, which opened about a year ago, MetroHealth said in a news release.
The project, which runs through 2023, will ultimately support 5,600 new and existing jobs and lead to a nearly $900 million economic impact for Cuyahoga County, according to Metrohealth, which cites a report from Cleveland State University.
"From the very beginning in 2014, we said that the campus transformation was more than the rebuilding of a hospital, it's about the economic rebuilding of the near Westside," Akram Boutros, MD, president and CEO of MetroHealth, said. "We already provide more than 7,400 jobs to Greater Clevelanders, and provide well over $1 billion a year to the local economy. The transformation will only amplify that."
MetroHealth's board in March authorized the system to self-issue up to $1.3 billion of bonds for the transformation.
MetroHealth said Cuyahoga County is also providing financial support through a letter of credit at a cost of $350,000 per year.