Bank of America Provides Comprehensive Financing for Special Needs Charter School

July 28, 2005

Students with severe disabilities will benefit

Washington, D.C. – Bank of America has provided financing to enable St. Coletta of Greater Washington to build a new, state-of-the-art, 99,000 square foot facility in the District of Columbia. Construction on the new building is underway on previously vacant land in Southeast Washington, near DC General Hospital and RFK Stadium.

“As a leader in community development, Bank of America is proud to be part of the effort to locate an outstanding organization like St. Coletta in Washington, D.C.” said Bill Couper, president, Bank of America Greater Washington. “St. Coletta will provide increased opportunities currently not available within Washington, D.C. for as many as 260 children with severe disabilities. Its attractive architecture and presence as a strong new institution and a major employer will also add to the vitality of the neighborhood.”

Bank of America has provided $20 million in financing to facilitate the move and expansion of St. Coletta’s existing operations. The transaction includes conventional refinancing of the school’s existing building in Old Town Alexandria, VA., and $16.5 million in tax-exempt bond financing for the construction of the new facility in Washington. In addition, Banc of America Securities underwrote and placed the tax-exempt bonds. The Bank was also able to provide interest-rate protection to reduce the school’s cost of borrowing and buffer interest rate volatility.

“This new facility represents the culmination of years of planning and hard work,” said Sharon Raimo, executive director of St. Coletta. “We are pleased to be able to partner with Bank of America to better serve the children of the District of Columbia"

St. Coletta is a non-sectarian, nonprofit organization that operates a school and adult day program for children and adults with mental retardation and autism. Its 165 students come from the entire metropolitan area, but the majority—some 68 percent—live in the District of Columbia. When complete, the new facility will expand the school’s capacity to serve up to 260 students.

The location of St. Coletta within city limits will represent a substantial savings on financial and human capital in the District of Columbia. Currently, the District, either places students with mental retardation or autism in its own special-education programs or sends them to outside schools at city expense. Once the school is in operation, many students will be closer to their families and communities.

“The arrival of St. Coletta is good news for Washington on many levels,” said Michael Hodge, director of the District of Columbia’s Office of Industrial Revenue Bonds. “The District is investing in an operation that will bring much-needed programs and jobs to the District, instead of spending resources in other jurisdictions. The benefits to children and adults who need the programs the most will be incalculable.”

The new facility for St. Coletta is scheduled to open in the summer of 2006.

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving 33 million consumer relationships with more than 5,800 retail banking offices, more than 16,600 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 13 million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 150 countries and has relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 85 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Bank of America

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