MassDevelopment.com: Press Room: $20 Million MassDevelopment Bond Supports New WGBH Headquarters

$20 Million MassDevelopment Bond Supports New WGBH Headquarters
September 19, 2005

Contacts:
Adam Bickelman, 617-330-2086
Janet Hookailo, 617-330-2018

MassDevelopment today announced a $20,000,000 financing package for WGBH, Boston's public television and radio broadcaster. WGBH will use proceeds from a tax-exempt bond issue to consolidate its headquarters from twelve smaller buildings to one efficient facility in Brighton, Massachusetts. The financing package from MassDevelopment is one part of the overall funding that will make the new building possible.

"WGBH represents the gold standard for leadership in public broadcasting throughout New England and across America," said Robert L. Culver, MassDevelopment president/CEO. "MassDevelopment is proud to have a hand in financing WGBH'S new headquarters. This deal will help support WGBH's inspiring television and radio programming which has entertained our families and educated our kids for more than fifty years."

Launched in 1951, WGBH grew out of an 1836 bequest from John Lowell Jr. to provide free public lectures for the benefit of Boston citizens. More than a century later in 1946, The Lowell Institute formed a cooperative with six Boston colleges to broadcast its lecture series on the radio. Less than a decade later, WGBH debuted with a radio broadcast of the Boston Symphony Orchestra on 89.7 FM and children's programming on WGBH TV2. Today, WGBH broadcasts on six public television channels and four radio stations, and produces one-third of prime time programming for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

"As a non-profit, we depend on our viewers, listeners and others for financial support," said Patricia Campbell, vice president of finance for WGBH. "We need to make every dollar count, and tax-exempt financing helps us save money on borrowing to meet our bottom line."

MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development authority, partners with businesses and local officials to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. In fiscal year 2004, the agency arranged financing for or managed 201 projects statewide totaling more than $1.25 billion. These projects supported the creation of more than 5,500 jobs and 2,445 housing starts.

WGBH informs, inspires, and entertains millions of people throughout New England. Boston's last remaining independent TV station, WGBH is the leading producer of PBS prime-time programs and online content, a major producer for public radio, and a pioneer in educational multimedia and services that make media accessible for people with disabilities.