SeaTac studies financing and delivery options for proposed civic campus

SeaTac City Council met in a study session to review project‑delivery and finance options for a proposed civic campus, receiving a 90‑minute presentation from financial advisers Piper Sandler and city staff outlining tax‑exempt bonds, 63‑20 nonprofit lease financing, TIFIA transit‑oriented loans and public‑private partnership structures.

The options matter because they change who controls new buildings, how much the city would borrow, what portion of the campus could be leased to private tenants and how quickly construction funds could be secured, Piper Sandler and city staff said.

Piper Sandler managing director Schober and adviser Justin Monway described the tradeoffs among traditional municipal funding, quasi‑public 63‑20 lease structures, public‑private partnerships and federal transit‑oriented loans. Schober said a 63‑20 approach can transfer construction and some delivery risk to a developer but can raise up‑front and capitalized costs: “a 3 year construction period would be about $20,000,000 in capitalized interest,” he said, citing an illustrative $120–130 million project example. Monway explained limits on tax‑exempt financing, including private‑use rules: “Private use cannot exceed 10% of the funding,” he said, and added that bond counsel must make the final…