A $14.5 million bond issue to help finance a new terminal at Columbia Regional Airport won the unanimous approval of the Columbia City Council on Monday night.
Regions Capital Advantage, Inc., a branch of Regions Financial Corporation, has offered to purchase the bonds and be repaid over the next 15 years at an annual interest rate of 1.9% interest rate. This means the city is projected to pay a little over $16.5 million.
City Counselor Nancy Thompson called that "a phenomenal interest rate" and said it probably is the result of lenders looking for opportunities to compete in the bond market. Mayor Brian Treece noted that tax-free municipal bonds are a good place for investors to place their money in the current environment.
The entirety of the project to build a new terminal will cost an estimated $26.6 million. The city received three proposals before Friday's 5 p.m. deadline from companies who want to design and build the terminal.
To repay the bond issue, Columbia will need an additional $7.85 million from hotel taxes, as $2.15 million in hotel taxes have already been collected, according to a council information sheet. The remainder of the bond, $6.2 million, would be paid for by passenger facility charges, which are collected through airline tickets.
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