LFCC moving closer to financing student center

WINCHESTER — Frederick County supervisors Wednesday endorsed a resolution to help Lord Fairfax Community College attain a tax-exempt bond — not to exceed $9 million — to finance construction of a planned student center at its Middletown campus.

The board approved a concurrent resolution that will allow the Clarke County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) to apply for a tax-exempt bond on behalf of LFCC.

According to Chris Boies, vice president of financial and administrative services for LFCC, the IDA is involved because counties can receive $10 million in tax-exempt bonds to finance projects each year and — while Frederick County has already received those bonds this year for other projects — Clarke County still had its $10 million available.

“We needed a conduit to get bank-qualified tax-exempt financing,” said Boies, adding that the Clarke IDA will receive a small amount of money for its services.

“It’s confusing for people because they think Clarke County’s funding it. They’re not obligating any of their debt to the project, it’s just a way for us to access that tax-exempt financing. We needed access to that bond market and the only way to do that was through the IDA.”

The IDA adopted a resolution to work with LFCC to attain a tax-exempt bond Wednesday morning, and the Clarke County Board of Supervisors likely will approve the request at its meeting on Tuesday. The Frederick County board’s approval of the resolution was required since the project is in Frederick County, Boies said.

Also Wednesday, the Frederick board approved public water and sewer services for the planned center, which will be close to 32,000 square feet. It will contain LFCC’s bookstore, food services, a fitness center, two classrooms and office space, Boies said.

The center is needed because of LFCC’s increasing enrollment and the changing needs of its students at the Middletown campus. LFCC has an enrollment of more than 7,300 students between its locations in Middletown, Fauquier and the Luray-Page County Center.

There will be a ceremonial groundbreaking for the center on Nov. 28.

— Contact Matt Armstrong atmarmstrong@winchesterstar.com