By SUSAN JONES
The Board of Trustees has authorized the issuing of up to $275 million in bonds with final maturity not to exceed 20 years to help finance near-term capital projects, such as the Student Recreation and Wellness Center and the Arena and Sports Performance Center.
These projects, plus several others, are part of the 10-year Facilities Master Plan, which moves Pitt closer to the goals of the Campus Master Plan for Oakland approved in 2019.
The University last issued bonds in 2019 to help finance the first part of the Campus Master Plan, including the Student Recreation and Wellness Center; the Scaife Hall addition and renovation; and the chilled water plant.
Pitt’s capital budget for 2023-24 is $389.9 million. The bulk of this will go toward essential preservation projects ($120 million) — Crawford Hall renovation, Thaw Hall roof replacement and Heinz Chapel spire repair — and development of BioForge at Hazelwood Green ($87 million). Another $42 million is for ongoing work on the Arena and Sports Performance Center.
The state has yet to release Pitt’s funding for this fiscal year, including money for capital projects. A University spokesperson said the bond offering is unrelated to the delay in funding from the state.
Audit committee
The Trustees’ Audit Committee on Oct. 18 approved the annual independent audit of the University’s financial statements for the year ending June 30, 2023.
The audit was conducted by KPMG LLP, which was again appointed to do the audit for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
The annual financial statement shows Pitt’s endowment at $5.52 billion, down slightly from $5.56 billion the previous year.
The report also lists the total bonds and notes that Pitt still has outstanding. The bonds will mature anywhere from 3 months to 97 years. The total still payable at the end of June 2022 from bonds issued in 2014, 2017 and 2019 is $1.46 billion, but only roughly $280 million will mature in fiscal year 2024.
All of Pitt’s financial reports are available online. A new website set up by the Office of Government Relations and Advocacy has links to those reports as well as others required by the state or federal government and other information Pitt chooses to share publicly (see story on University transparency).
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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