Phila. sells $65M in bonds; first competitive sale in 8 years

The City of Philadelphia sold $65.2 million of bonds to finance a new police headquarters facility at 4601 Market St.

The sale was comprised of a $61.1 million tax-exempt series sold to Bank of America with bonds maturing from 2021-2044, and a $4.1 million taxable series maturing in 2018-2020 that was bought by Ramirez & Co.

It was the city's first competitive bond sale since 2006, when Philadelphia's bond rating from Standard & Poor's was "BBB." A December rating upgrade by S&P to "A+" will help save the city over $7 million over the life of the new bonds, officials said.

A second sale is planned for late 2015 to complete financing for the police building, called the Public Safety Services Campus. - Reid Kanaley