BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

​​CANTON — St. Lawrence University has submitted an application to the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency for a tax-exempt revenue bond not to exceed $80,000,000.

According to the notice of public hearing on the IDA’s website, St. Lawrence intends to use the funding for “the rehabilitation, renovation and improvement of existing administrative, academic, athletic, student housing and other facilities on the University’s approximately 1,000 acre main campus located at 23 Romoda Drive.”

The secondary purpose of the bond is to refinance all or a portion of the university’s indebtedness relating to the IDA’s $40,180,000 bond originally issued to the university for “the refunding of all or a portion of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York St. Lawrence University Revenue Bonds, Series 2008 (the “Series 2008 Bonds”), issued for the benefit of the University, the proceeds of which were applied in part to (a) undertake certain projects on the Main Campus consisting of campus wide infrastructure improvements and infrastructure improvements at other University properties.”

Those upgrades included electrical upgrades, walkway, road and steam line repairs and replacements, classroom refurbishment and replacement of voicemail systems, among other things, according to documents on the IDA website.

Officials say in the documents that, if issued, the bonds will be issued to the university as a qualifying 501(c)(3) organization.

The IDA public hearing in relation to the issuance of the bonds is scheduled for July 19 at 10 a.m. and is set to take place at 19 Commerce Lane, Suite #1, Canton.

If approved, the St. Lawrence County Legislature will have to approve the funding, before it is then subsequently sent back to the IDA board for final approval.