Bangkok--20 May--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'A' rating to Gilbert Improvement District No. 20, Ariz.'s $8.9 million improvement bonds. At the same time, we affirmed our 'AA' rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on the town of Gilbert's outstanding general obligation (GO) bonds. The outlook is stable.
"The 'A' rating on the improvement bonds reflects our view of the contingent support provided by the town's special assessment bond fund loan covenant," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Paul Dyson. "The town has experienced what we consider strong property tax base diversification and growth, although we expect this growth to decline moderately in 2010 and 2011." The bonds are payable only out of a special fund collected by Gilbert from installments of special assessments levied against property within the improvement district benefiting from the improvements, and are collateralized by such property (or vacant land, in many cases).
Bond proceeds will finance improvements within improvement district no. 20, including streets, sidewalks, street lighting, traffic signals, water and sewer facilities, drainage improvements and utility improvements.
The district is a mixed-use development with residential and commercial use located within the corporate boundaries of Gilbert. The property consists of 47 lots of various sizes owned 20 different property owners, including one parcel owned by the town that is not assessed. The assessor's estimated full cash value as of 2009 was $46 million.
RELATED RESEARCH
-- USPF Criteria: "GO Debt," Oct. 12, 2006
-- USPF Criteria: "Special-Purpose Districts," June 14, 2007
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Media Contact:
Ana Sandoval, New York (1) 212-438-5095, [email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Paul Dyson, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5079
Sussan Corson, New York (1) 212-438-2014
Key Contacts:
Americas Media Relations: (1) 212-438-6667
media_ [email protected]
Americas Customer Service: (1) 212-438-7280
[email protected]