Princeton HealthCare System has announced that it has successfully completed the financing of its new 237-bed hospital on Route 1 in Plainsboro.
According to the press release, PHCS closed on $355 million in financing, including $180 million of tax exempt, variable rate demand bonds supported by letters of credit from TD Bank and Bank of America. The balance of the financing — $175 million — was in the form of direct bank loans from Wells Fargo/Wachovia Bank and JP Morgan Chase.
“PHCS was able to complete the transaction at favorable interest rates of less than 3 percent annually,” the press release stated. The University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, which is expected to open in early 2012, is on schedule and on budget, the press release stated.
Rabner called the news “another important step in our journey to build a new regional medical center for residents of central New Jersey. The four banks involved in this process and the Financing Authority have expressed confidence in the vision and solid planning of the new hospital.”
Meanwhile, PHCS has announced that the new rehabilitation center is scheduled to open in September. The Merwick Care & Rehabilitation Center will move to a 105,000-square foot facility adjacent to the new hospital.
Merwick’s new owner, Windsor Healthcare is constructing the facility in the 160-acre hospital campus. Sweetwater Construction Corp. broke ground last July on the new center. The long-term care facility will be located directly south of the new hospital, which is being constructed on the campus off Route 1 between Scudders Mill Road and the Millstone River. The hospital is scheduled to open in 2011.
The New Merwick Center will consist of a cluster of buildings on over six acres overlooking the Millstone River and a 35-acre park. The facility, which is being designed by RMJM Architects of Princeton, will contain 80 beds of sub-acute care and 120 beds of long-term care. It will replace an existing 83-bed facility located on Bayard Lane in Princeton.
The sub-acute care unit will provide care for patients recovering from certain surgeries or prolonged illnesses who need specialized rehab. The long-term care unit will provide care for people no longer able to reside in their homes, a press release stated. The two facilities will share a common kitchen and service areas, as well as an administration and an in/out patient dialysis center.
However, PHCS will have to find a new developer for its current hospital site in Princeton. The real estate investment company that was to purchase the current hospital site in Princeton has decided not to move forward with its plans for redevelopment of the site. As a result, PHCS has resumed its search for a developer.
The hospital announced on May 14 that Philadelphia-based Lupert Adler, which had planned to building housing on the 5.6-acre site, has dropped plans to purchase the property on Witherspoon Street in Princeton.
Hospital officials have cited the bad economy in public reports as the reason Lupert Adler, which would have paid $55 million for the property, dropped its plans.
According to the statement from PHCS, CEO Barry Rabner “expressed optimism about the hospital’s options. This change of plans has no impact on financing of the hospital relocation project.”
Located on 50 acres of a 160-acre site off Route 1, the new hospital will consist of 636,000 square feet of interior space, including 237 single patient rooms, operating rooms, treatment areas, and an emergency department, which will be double the size of the current one.
The new medical center will be located on a campus that will also include a medical office building, a fitness and wellness center, a health education center, a senior residential community, a skilled nursing facility, pediatric services, and a 32-acre public park along the Millstone River.
