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Citizens Bank, MassDevelopment Announce $1.5 Million Financing Package to Support New Bedford Charter School Expansion
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March 20, 2008 Contacts: Alicia Tildsley, MassDevelopment, 617-603-3120 Nancy Orlando, Citizens Bank, 617-994-7472 Warren E. Berube, GLCPS, 508-991-4105 MassDevelopment and Citizens Bank today announced a $1,500,000 financing package supported by $1,000,000 in loan guarantees for the Global Learning Charter Public School (GLCPS) in New Bedford. Citizens Bank provided a $750,000 loan supported by a $750,000 MassDevelopment Charter School loan guarantee. MassDevelopment also provided a $250,000 loan and matching $250,000 loan guarantee through its Charter School Loan Fund. GLCPS is using the funds to renovate its newly leased headquarters, the former St. Anthony’s School building located at 190 Ashley Boulevard. "We are pleased to partner with Citizens Bank to support Global Learning Charter Public School’s campus consolidation and expansion," said Robert L. Culver, MassDevelopment president/CEO. "Our Charter School Loan Fund is an important credit enhancement program for schools seeking to expand or modernize their facilities, but that lack sufficient equity to meet traditional credit standards." Phase one of the renovations includes accessibility improvements, upgrades to kitchen and cafeteria space, and the installation of a new fire detection system. Citizens Bank contributed an additional $500,000 loan to finance phase two of the renovations which will include the installation of a new elevator to service all four floors of the building. The renovations will allow all students to fully access all floors and sections of the building without inconvenience. "We are thrilled to be able to unite our students under one roof and provide them all with access to better facilities, technological resources and learning opportunities," said Warren E. Berube, Global Learning Charter Public School’s executive director. Founded as the Horace Mann Charter School in 2002, the Global Learning Charter Public School received its Commonwealth Charter in July 2007 and opened as a tuition-free public charter school for students in grades six through 12. The school employs a high-tech high-learning (HTHL) curriculum financed in part by the program’s founding organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The 12 HTHL schools in the country feature a new technology-based approach to public secondary education. The school opened at its new location in September 2007, and hopes to reach enrollment goal of 450 students next year. GLCPS plans to hold its first high school graduation in June 2008. "We are proud to work with MassDevelopment on this exciting renovation project that is benefiting the students and facility at the Global Learning Charter Public School as well as the city of New Bedford," said Robert E. Smyth, president, Citizens Bank, Massachusetts. "At Citizens Bank, we are committed to supporting the communities where our customers and colleagues live and work." MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions and local officials to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY 2007, MassDevelopment financed or managed 211 projects statewide representing the investment of more than $2 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are supporting the creation of more than 1,280 new housing units and more than 11,000 permanent or construction-related jobs. About Citizens Bank Citizens Bank is a division of RBS Citizens, N.A., operating its seven-state branch network in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. It has 263 branches and 608 ATMs in Massachusetts. RBS Citizens, N.A. is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $159 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. CFG’s two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a 13-state branch network under the Citizens Bank brand in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, and the Charter One brand in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. CFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. It is one of the 10 largest commercial banking companies in the United States ranked by assets and deposits. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). CFG’s Web site is citizensbank.com.
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