MassDevelopment Bond Helps Mount Ida College Renovate Athletic Fields

June 21, 2012

Contact:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)

MassDevelopment has issued a $26 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of Newton’s Mount Ida College, the college of choice for a professionally-focused education. Mount Ida will use bond proceeds to refund previous debt and to replace its main athletic field with a new artificial turf surface and expand its existing practice field into a regulation-size grass playing surface. East Boston Savings Bank purchased the bond.

“Mount Ida College is a NCAA Division III school with 15 athletic teams, along with club and intramural sports. The field improvements will provide many benefits,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “These tax-exempt bonds are a low-cost financing tool for many of the Commonwealth’s higher education institutions, and we're pleased to support Mount Ida College.”

“Working with MassDevelopment to make this project a reality has been great” said Cheryl St. Pierre-Sleboda, Vice President for Finance and Administration, Mount Ida College. “They have helped make our dream to provide our student athletes with better fields a reality. Our students, parents, alumni and friends are excited to cheer on our Mustangs this fall when the new artificial turf field opens.”

Founded in 1899, Mount Ida College is a private, co-educational undergraduate and graduate institution with about 1,500 full- and part-time students and a 14:1 student to faculty full-time equivalent ratio. Mount Ida College provides a diverse community of learners a challenging education that blends the liberal arts with professional preparation. To learn more, visit the College's website at www.mountida.edu.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2011, MassDevelopment financed or managed more than 300 projects generating investment of $3.8 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create more than 10,000 jobs (2,547 permanent and 8,129 construction), and build or rehabilitate more than 1,000 residential units.