The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced it will be insuring a $210 million mortgage loan to St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Ga., made possible through the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program.
St. Francis Hospital operates a 376-bed hospital and a 60-bed assisted living facility; the FHA-insured loan will be used to renovate a portion of the existing facility, construct a new patient tower and medical office building, purchase new equipment, and refinance a $50 million debt.
The new facilities will serve to convert the hospital to primarily private rooms and double the size of its emergency room, as well as create a state-of-the-art dedicated cardiovascular unit and create office space on the hospital campus to house its physician centers of excellence.
“FHA is helping to build and update state-of-the-art health care facilities like this all across the country,” said FHA Acting Commissioner Carol Galante in a statement. “By helping to make these projects possible, FHA also contributes to the financial well-being of communities by creating jobs and supporting local economies.”
Because FHA is insuring the loan, the hospital is able to get lower cost financing that will save an estimated $65 million in interest costs over the life of the loan. The construction project support nearly 1,700 full-time jobs and provide an economic boost of more than $389 million to the community, and upon completion, an annual economic benefit of more than $9 million, according to HUD estimates.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
