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Here’s how Moffitt will pay for a $339 million hospital expansion
Moffitt Cancer Center plans two bond issues, totaling $383 million, to finance construction of a hospital expansion and other capital improvements.
The hospital expansion project will be on Moffit’s McKinley east campus, about a mile south of the cancer center’s main location on the campus of University of South Florida in Tampa. It will be a state of the art facility to support Moffitt’s growth over the next 10 to 20 years, a spokeswoman said.
The 390,000-square-foot expansion is expected to have 128 inpatient beds and 19 operating rooms, according to preliminary bond documents and the spokeswoman for Moffitt. Ultimately, the new hospital will have the capacity to house 400 inpatients beds. There will be a bridge connecting the new hospital campus to the existing Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Outpatient Center on the McKinley west campus, and a central energy plant on the east campus to support the new hospital. There also will be a parking garage. Construction would begin this summer, with the construction completed in May 2023 and occupancy in July 2023, the bond documents said. Total construction costs are estimated at $339 million.
A bridge will connect the new hospital on Moffitt’s McKinley east campus to the existing Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Outpatient Center on the McKinley west campus. (Courtesy: Moffitt Cancer Center)
Moffitt plans additional improvements at other locations with some of the proceeds from the bonds.
Bonds are used by corporations, government entities and others to finance projects and operations. They are a type of financial instrument that represent a loan made by an investor — often big institutional investors such as pension funds or endowments — to the borrower. They are typically sold in large increments, often $1,000 or more.
Both Moody’s Investors Services and S&P Global Ratings have assigned investment-grade ratings to the Moffitt bonds, which are expected to sell this month. Moffitt has had continuing enterprise growth that undergirds strong margins in the current fiscal year and has felt a limited impact from COVID-19 disruption, a June 1 report from Moody’s said. There’s a history of state funding that will continue to provide support for research and capital projects through annual operations and a cigarette-tax backed debt.
“Moffitt will continue to benefit from its unique market position and brand penetration, notable cancer research and treatment, and longstanding partnerships with other leading academic and clinical institutions,” the Moody’s report said.
Moffitt Cancer Center had $1.5 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2019 and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center based in Florida.
