Holland & Knight Assists Corvias in Securing $548 Million Private Financing for University System of Georgia Student Housing Projects
ATLANTA (May 20, 2015) – Holland & Knight advised Corvias Campus Living, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corvias Group, in securing $548.3 million in private financing to fund the initial phase of an innovative public-private partnership (P3) with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG). The securities offering, which was placed by Goldman Sachs, closed on May 14.
Under the terms of the 65-year partnership, Corvias Campus Living will significantly improve on-campus student housing at nine of USG's 30 campuses, including the development, construction, management and long-term maintenance of 3,753 new beds and 6,195 existing beds. This agreement marks the first time that a state system has privatized student housing across a portfolio of campuses.
The partnership includes approximately $300 million to defease existing debt secured by USG rental agreements, $6.3 million of up-front funding for capital repairs and renovations at existing student housing facilities, and $165 million for newly constructed facilities. Corvias recently hired eight Georgia-based architecture, engineering and construction firms to assist with the USG student housing program and will seek additional subcontractors.
In November 2014, Holland & Knight represented Corvias Group in connection with the company's award as private concessionaire for the project with USG. Holland & Knight public finance partner Woody Vaughan led the team representing Corvias during both the award and financing processes.
Mr. Vaughan was assisted by attorneys Tony Freedman, Bonni Kaufman, Bill LeBeau, Richard Lear and Andrew Emerson in Washington, D.C.; Allison Dyer, Matt Joe, Robert Highsmith, Keith Wiener, John Decker, Mike Schreiner, Mellori Lumpkin, Drew Gandy and Ashley Plemons in Atlanta; Randy DelFranco and Tonya Rodgers in New York; Deborah Griffin and Max Bodoin in Boston; Curtis Sano in Northern Virginia; and Dustin Stevens in Orlando, Fla.
About Holland & Knight's Public Finance Team: The firm's national Public Finance Team includes more than 20 attorneys who have decades of experience in all aspects of public finance issues and public- private partnerships. During the past five years, the team has participated in the financing of more than $13.4 billion in principal amount of debt in connection with virtually every type of governmental issue. In 2014, Holland & Knight was ranked the as the most active bond counsel in the Southeast for all bond issues and the fifth most active bond counsel in the U.S. for competitive offerings in The Bond Buyer's mid-year rankings.