State School Bond Authority approves campus leases, $56 million Tennessee Tech housing request and delegates up-to-$250 million bond sale

The Tennessee State School Bond Authority on March 24 approved multiple lease-related financings for public universities, agreed to $56,000,000 in bond funding for a Tennessee Tech residence hall phase and authorized the staff to proceed with a supplemental bond resolution allowing an up-to-$250,000,000 sale in April.

The actions, taken by roll-call votes with all members recorded as voting aye, included: (1) approval of minutes from the authority’s Dec. 16, 2024 meeting; (2) approval of a five-year corporate-quarters lease for the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center to house students on clinical rotations in Chattanooga; (3) approval of an amendment to Middle Tennessee State University’s lease with the city of Shelbyville adding 4.8 acres for an aerospace campus; (4) approval of $56,000,000 in bond funding for a Tennessee Tech 400-bed residence hall (part of a larger $72,560,000 project); and (5) approval of a supplemental resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of higher education facilities bonds not to exceed $250,000,000, with the sale scheduled for April 9.

Why it matters: The authority’s actions clear near-term financing and real property steps that universities say are intended to support student housing and program expansion. The delegated bond authorization enables staff to finalize sale details for a multi-institution bond issue that will supply capital across campuses.

University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center lease Austin Oaks, representing the University of Tennessee, presented a request that the authority approve borrowing by…