Latest news with #PalmBeachAtlanticUniversity
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Palm Beach Housing Crunch Spurs $236 Million Muni Deal for Dorms
(Bloomberg) -- Student housing is so tight at Palm Beach Atlantic University that some applicants have chosen not to enroll. A $235.8 million high-yield bond deal is the school's bet to reverse that trend. Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access LA City Council Passes Budget That Trims Police, Fire Spending Palm Beach County will issue the muni bonds on behalf of an arm of Provident Resources Group, an organization that specializes in student housing. Proceeds of the debt will finance the construction of roughly 275 housing units with 990 beds at the Christian college in West Palm Beach, Florida. The deal includes $212.7 million in senior revenue bonds and $23.1 million in subordinate bonds. Both series will include securities with a 40-year tenor, reaching maturity in 2065, according to preliminary offering documents. The debt is expected to price on June 4, and proceeds will fund student housing and a suite of campus amenities, including a dining hall, a health and recreational center with cardio and circuit floors, a weight room and a golf simulator. The project also includes a nine-story parking garage with 740 spaces for students, faculty and staff. Palm Beach Atlantic is investing $9 million of its own funds at the start of the project. Construction begins in June and is expected to wrap between July and August of 2027, according to bond documents. Gilbane Development Company is the real estate developer, while Gilbane Building Company will be handling the construction. JPMorgan is underwriting the deal. An entity associated with Provident will repay the bonds using lease payments from the university tied to the dining, parking and wellness facilities. Rent from students will back the housing portion. 'Blending those two together gets you a stronger projection and the ability to more accurately project cash flows for the long haul,' said Provident President Chris Hicks. Enrollment Pressures Palm Beach Atlantic University was founded in 1968 as a Christian liberal arts college. Full-time undergraduates between the ages of 17 and 20 are generally required to live on campus. But applicants unable to secure housing often withdraw, a challenge the university expects to intensify under a new policy taking effect this fall that raises the on-campus housing requirement to 21, offering documents say. 'There is a significant growth among enrollment at Southern schools, and you can't grow enrollment unless you have a place to put these kids,' said Jennifer Johnston, a senior vice president at Franklin Templeton. 'We're definitely seeing an increase in student housing balances in general.' Palm Beach Atlantic has seen a more than 500% increase in undergraduate applications since 2019, according to bond documents. Competition among universities is also fueling the debt boom. 'You need to have nice facilities, and that's what's driven up so much of this debt issuance for universities in general,' Johnston added. The university currently leases off-campus beds, but that hasn't been enough to meet demand. For the 2025-2026 academic year, it anticipates a shortfall of 456 beds, per the bond documents. Following the construction of the new residence project, undergraduate housing capacity is set to increase by 41%, about 2,217 beds. Many off-campus options are either too costly or require students to share a bedroom. That problem may worsen as rents in West Palm Beach rise. 'There's no such thing in West Palm Beach as cost-effective housing,' Hicks said. As of February 2025, the average rent in the city stood at $2,063, up from $1,972 in April 2024, according to bond documents. The new dormitory's per-bed rent is expected to average $1,152 a month, based on a 12-month lease. For the 2027-2028 academic year, rents for the new units range from $7,752 for a two-bedroom apartment to $8,232 for a unit with an ocean view, per semester. Ratings View Fitch Ratings assigned a BB+ rating to the senior bonds, noting that while the new facilities will enhance student life, their success hinges on continued enrollment momentum, analysts led by Seth Lehman wrote in the report. 'The project has a lot of debt and only a small amount of upfront contributions from the university,' Lehman said in an interview. 'It's a highly leveraged project.' Even so, the university reduces its financial exposure by having Provident as the borrower, he added. The dorms are expected to become a top choice among students. Palm Beach Atlantic University's debt is rated BBB+ by Fitch. The rating stems from the school's 'strategic transformation' from a commuter to a residential university with 'a more national appeal, maintaining its Christian-focused educational mission,' analysts led by Akiko Mitsui said in an April ratings report. The school is also well positioned to benefit from South Florida's evolving economy. As Wall Street firms move operations south, West Palm Beach has gained a reputation as 'Wall Street South,' bringing financial-sector jobs closer to campus. Between 2017 and 2022, a net of 30,000 New York City residents relocated to Florida's Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, transferring $9.2 billion in income, according to the report released April by the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog. YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To Will Small Business Owners Knock Down Trump's Mighty Tariffs? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Bloomberg
03-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Palm Beach Housing Crunch Spurs $236 Million Muni Deal for Dorms
Student housing is so tight at Palm Beach Atlantic University that some applicants have chosen not to enroll. A $235.8 million high-yield bond deal is the school's bet to reverse that trend. Palm Beach County will issue the muni bonds on behalf of an arm of Provident Resources Group, an organization that specializes in student housing. Proceeds of the debt will finance the construction of roughly 275 housing units with 990 beds at the Christian college in West Palm Beach, Florida. The deal includes $212.7 million in senior revenue bonds and $23.1 million in subordinate bonds. Both series will include securities with a 40-year tenor, reaching maturity in 2065, according to preliminary offering documents.
USA Today
22-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Tariffs, Houthis, Musk, and golf: Trump's weekends at Mar-a-Lago always a firehose of news
Tariffs, Houthis, Musk, and golf: Trump's weekends at Mar-a-Lago always a firehose of news Trump's second presidency has been a seesaw of milestones — from imposing tariffs to military action — and the swings have started or played out during the time he has spent at the Winter White House. Show Caption Hide Caption Trump first 100 days: What President has done from Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach Trump News: President spent 31 of his first 100 days in office at Mar-a-Lago, reinforcing Palm Beach as his political base during his second term. The Palm Beach Post President Donald Trump's second first 100 days included more trips and days at Mar-a-Lago than in his prior term eight years ago, and the time he spent at his Palm Beach was just as historic. All told, the president traveled to his Palm Beach County residence and golf clubs nine times, spending all or part of 31 days through April 29. The president then spent another four days at his club May 1-4. Trump's second presidency, through the first 100 days, was a seesaw of milestones — from imposing tariffs to military action — and the swings have started or played out during the time he has spent at the Winter White House. "You think about past presidents that have done momentous things outside the White House," said Wesley Borucki, associate professor of history at Palm Beach Atlantic University. "That is kind of interesting having an alternative White House of sorts here." As was the case during the 30-plus trips he made to the Winter White House in his first term, the visits to his adopted home county since Jan. 20 have not been isolated news events but interwoven with the political narratives that have traveled with him to and from Palm Beach County. As was the case with the Houthis, and an offer a luxury plane from Qatar, which Trump reportedly toured during a Palm Beach visit, the news sometimes started during a visit to his adopted home county. Trump's tariffs, yes and no, definitely and maybe On his first sojourn to his Palm Beach club, in early February, Trump fired the first salvo in what would become a global trade war. He declared tariffs on the United States' North American neighbors, Canada and Mexico, would be imposed at the start of February. Those were later postponed, then partially implemented. This term, the administration's signature economic issue has been a campaign to reorder global trading networks by imposing high-cost tariffs on products imported into the United States. Trump's desire to charge historically high global duties on imports into the United States and his decision to pause those efforts have been a running theme during his visits to South Florida. On a visit in mid-February, Trump issued an executive order to open up timber and logging across U.S. federal woodlands to lessen what he said was a "national security" threat from depending on imported wood products. That drew a scoff from Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, during an April interview. "For god's sakes, under no reasonable definition is the timber industry critical for national security," said Alden. "These arguments are very slippery and can end up with a lot of protectionist abuses." Trump's seventh visit started a day after his "Liberation Day" tariff announcement and drew scrutiny in part by the juxtaposition of the president at his golf clubs while the stock and bond markets were in turmoil. Despite the pushback and early reports of backpedaling, Trump insisted he remained steadfast. In a post on his social media platform, Trump insisted, "NOBODY is getting 'off the hook' for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!" Attack on Houthis and Signal chat In mid-March, the president announced from Palm Beach County that the U.S. forces had launched strikes against Houthi factions committing violent acts of piracy on maritime shipping. At the time, Trump's March 15 missive on TruthSocial barely broke through the news cycle. Still, the Houthi action soon became the source of a classified secrets scandal. That happened after it was revealed that the editor of the decidedly Trump-critical Atlantic magazine had been included on a Signal chat text group in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Floridians Marco Rubio, secretary of state, and Mike Waltz, the then-national security adviser, had discussed the details of the military mission. Waltz, a former congressman from northeast Florida, eventually was removed from the White House national security post and nominated to serve as the U.S. representative at the United Nations. On May 6, Trump said attacks on Houthi factions in Yemen were suspended because the militants had "capitulated" and 'don't want to fight anymore.' Other international efforts played out during weekends at Mar-a-Lago. In mid-April, Trump announced that fellow billionaire and Palm Beach County real estate investor Steven Witkoff and the U.S. ambassador to Oman, Ana Escrogima, had met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The talks in Muscat, Trump wrote, had been hosted by Omani Foreign Minister Said Badr. "The discussions were very positive and constructive, and the United States deeply thanks the Sultanate of Oman for its support of this initiative," Trump wrote. "Special Envoy Witkoff underscored to Dr. Araghchi that he had instructions from President Trump to resolve our two nations' differences through dialogue and diplomacy, if that is possible." The discussions were to continue in May as the administration focuses on preventing, as Trump demands and as other U.S. presidents have sought, to keep Tehran from access to nuclear weapons. Golf has been a staple for Trump Trump's first-term White House press handlers were reticent to discuss the president's time at his golf club. But in this term, the president has been unabashed about revealing he had played golf, and with whom. He has played with golfing legends Tiger Woods and Gary Player, the president of Finland and Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and attended a dinner while the LIV tournament was held at his Doral resort near Miami. He has also boasted that he had won several club championships at his courses. Elon Musk: DOGE chief back at Tesla, Rubio role broadens The world's richest man was a frequent guest during Trump's early stays in the Winter White House after surging as a MAGA darling in the late stages of the campaign and throughout the transition. But at the end of the 100 days, Musk's work with DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency that targeted federal spending, was mixed at best. And it was clear Musk's time as a special government employee, a temporary designation, was nearly up. How much red ink has been removed from the deficit is open to debate, but decidedly much less than the $2 trillion Musk promised while campaigning for Trump last fall. Also not debatable is that Musk became a lightning rod — and a deeply unpopular persona — to the extent that sales and share prices at his Tesla electric auto company suffered mightily. Nationwide protests were held at Tesla showrooms, including in Palm Beach County while Musk and Trump were in town. One of those, in West Palm Beach, became newsworthy when a motorist allegedly sought to drive into the crowd of demonstrators. A sharp disagreement over federal staffing is said to have been the trigger in a reportedly fiery argument between Musk and Rubio during a White House meeting, and the two men met with Trump at a Mar-a-Lago dinner a few days later, on March 2. As Musk phased out in the spring, Rubio's role in the administration broadened. On May 1, Trump announced that Waltz would be moved to the United Nations and Rubio would assume the duties of national security adviser. A person with knowledge of White House personnel moves said Rubio's stock with Trump has risen, owing in part to the president being impressed with the former Florida U.S. senator's smarts, something Trump critic and one-time aide John Bolton told The Palm Beach Post in an interview in 2024. Trump and popular culture Political pundits have long credited Trump's fandom in American sports for winning over a pivotal segment of voters, those so-called "low propensity" ones who are not necessarily as engaged in politics. They see Trump as relatable because he shares their interests and passions, according to some analysis. Maybe, maybe not, but Trump's Winter White House forays have included excursions to the Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and a UFC fight in Miami. He also signed orders to set English as the country's "official language" and banned the use of paper straws — plus called for banned baseball legend Pete Rose to be included in the sport's hall of fame in a social media post. The second hundred days? Trump kicked off his second 100 days with his 10th visit to Mar-a-Lago where, on May 3, he received an enthusiastic standing ovation when he entered the patio dining area, according to social media posts. It was likely Trump's last visit to Mar-a-Lago before he begins summer stays in other properties, especially Bedminster, New Jersey. In some ways, PBAU's Borucki said, the next 100 days "will be really important" — but that is if the action is less about what is said or done at Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster and more about what happens on Capitol Hill. "Congress has to do more also in extending the tax cuts from Trump's first term, and that's huge toward any end game to stimulate our own growth in addition to trade deals," he said. Borucki added the president's reliance on executive orders "makes me wonder" about legacy, since a successor administration could revoke them with its own orders. In particular, Borucki said lawmakers should implement the proposals promised by Trump during the 2024 campaign, such as no taxes on tips or no taxes on overtime pay. "American workers will want to see those promises kept, and no taxes on overtime pay would be especially important if domestic manufacturing gets a big shot in the arm from protectionist tariffs and subsequent trade deals," he said. To that end, the White House and GOP majorities in Congress were working on a major piece of legislation to slash taxes and spending by mid-spring. In the late April interview, Alden at the Council on Foreign Relations said he remained skeptical of Trump's continued glorifying of late 19th and early 20th century U.S. economic policies, plus his insistence that the economic history of the era should be repeated. "It was not uniformly a period of strong growth. The analogies to the 1890s are extremely weak," he said. "If you're learning lessons from that era, they are going to be the wrong ones for sure." The tariff policies Trump unveiled in his first 100 days, he said, risk snapping supply chains and cutting off U.S. manufacturers from suppliers for parts and other needs. Plus, he added that because of automation, factories don't create as many jobs as they used to. And he said he is concerned that Trump's tariff plans, coupled with the immigration crackdown, will prove costly to Americans. "What you can say with confidence is that both of President Trump's signature policies, trade protectionism and immigration restrictionism, are highly inflationary," he said. "They're both going to be felt in the wallets of consumers. Trump is far from dissuaded by the "Tariff Lobby" and globalists "working hard to justify Countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and too many others to name, continue the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS that are allowed to so freely flow into AMERICA," as he posted on Truth Social from Palm Beach during his first visit in early February. Three months later, on May 8, he proclaimed that the first of the trade deals (this one with the United Kingdom), will raise $6 billion in "external revenue" from a 10% tariff that would generate $5 billion. "This Deal shows that if you respect America, and bring serious proposals to the table, America is OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Many more to come — STAY TUNED!" he wrote on Truth Social. The following week, on May 11, the administration announced the framework of a tariff accord with China. Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@ Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local religious leaders laud Pope Leo XIV's 'spiritual gifts'
As American-born Pope Leo XIV began his first full day as leader of the Roman Catholic Church on May 9, leaders of the Catholic community in Palm Beach County reacted with a mix of surprise over his selection and optimism for the future of his papacy. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, a Chicago native, was elected May 8 as the 267th pope, assuming the name of Pope Leo XIV, and becoming the first pope in history from the United States. He succeeds Pope Francis, who died April 21 after leading the church for 12 years. In a statement released by the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach, Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito praised the choice of Leo to lead the world's more than 1 billion Catholics. He described the selection of a pope from the United States as unexpected. More: Pope Leo XIV to face decisions on choosing bishops in Florida, Trump's home state "With so many others, I was convinced that the choice of a Pope from the United States would be most unlikely, but it seems that Pope Francis, from heaven, has given us another surprise. I am delighted by the choice of this man, who possesses so many spiritual gifts, pastoral competency, and linguistic talents," Barbarito said. Barbarito, who has led the Diocese of Palm Beach since 2003, praised Leo's work in Peru, where Leo spent many years as a missionary and served as a cardinal, and his leadership in various roles at the Vatican. Despite the new pope's American roots, Barbarito said he believes Leo's influence will be global. "He is a Pope for all Catholics all over the world," he said. "There is no question that Pope Leo XIV will serve with the same zeal, effectiveness, and holiness that so many of our recent extraordinary Popes exhibited within our times." Bryan Froehle, a professor of sociology and religious studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University, said Leo's background will allow him to embody the vision of being pastoral and engaging the whole church, and of leading with a missionary spirit. "In many ways, he represents the hemisphere, not simply one country," Froehle said, noting Leo's dual U.S. and Peruvian citizenships. "He also reflects the reality of our life here in South Florida where we are proudly bilingual." Froehle noted a connection between Leo and Francis, but said it is too soon to know how the new pope's leadership will compare to his predecessor's. Francis called Leo to the Vatican in 2023 to serve as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, which recommends candidates for bishop and cardinal positions across the world. "Everyone is unique," Froehle said. "But I can tell you one thing. He was well known to Francis. He was specifically invited by Francis, and asked by Francis, to move from a very happy space where he was, serving and leading the people in a remote local church in Peru, to give that up and take on the service to lead the Dicastery ... Pope Francis saw that he was the kind of the person who would have the vision for what church leadership is about." Froehle also said Leo's work within the church makes him well-suited to face modern challenges. "He is someone who very much understands the challenges of the contemporary church," he said, "That is to say that we live in a time of transition. This is of course true of the church, but it's true of the world." Leo's selection also drew praise from leaders from other religious faiths. Rabbi Alan Bell of Temple Beth El in West Palm Beach lauded Leo's commitment to social justice. "As the first America- born pontiff, his election marks a historic moment in the Church's journey," Bell said in a statement. "Pope Leo's commitment to social justice, compassion and unity reflects the values of Torah and needs of our current world situation." Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@ and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Religious leaders greet selection of Pope Leo XIV with optimism
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
West Palm Beach mayor didn't need to force a resignation to get his way
First, kudos to West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James for somehow convincing officials at Palm Beach Atlantic University to revise their campus expansion plans. The mayor was quite accurate in describing a proposed 11-story parking garage as a "monstrosity" that would have potentially brought more traffic into an already congested downtown. Last month, PBAU officials won permission from city commissioners to build a 25-story tower and the massive garage along South Dixie Highway to boost campus enrollment by 2,000 students. James objected, contending that the massive garage would be an eyesore and disrupt hope of a pedestrian-friendly downtown. Fair point. The question we're raising, though: Was it worth the loss of the city's building and planning director? Our answer is a resounding 'no,' but resignations like Rick Greene's are prone to happen when a strong mayor turns petulant. 'He (the mayor) wasn't happy with a presentation that one of my planners made,' Greene told Palm Beach Post reporter Andrew Marra. 'He basically gave me the option of letting that employee go or, if not, I would be fired.' Having a mayor call for the firing of a city staffer over a presentation is petty and beyond the pale. The planner had told commissioners that the proposed garage had met city standards, which prompted planners to approve the project. That wasn't the explanation James had wanted. City planners in West Palm Beach may work for the mayor, but they aren't obliged to ignore objective recommendations to the city commission because of mayoral whim. Editorial: Federal DEI threats are a tough lesson for Palm Beach County schools Greene stepped in to elaborate, in part to complete the presentation and to protect his planner. The city commission approved the plan in a 4-0 vote, an apparent rebuke to the mayor. The order from James to fire the planner came later. Greene took the high road, standing up for a lower-level employee. In calling for the dismissal, James clearly did not. West Palm Beach is going through a major growth spurt — from simply being the county seat to its higher "Wall Street South" aspirations. The affluence ranking in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach put the area among the fastest growing 'wealth hubs' worldwide, according to Henley & Partners World's Wealthiest Cities Report 2025. With that wealth comes major commercial and residential investment that will change the face of West Palm Beach. Whether it's the ongoing changes at CityPlace, proposals to build high-rise condominiums and office towers along the Intracoastal Waterway, the restoration of historic homes in the city's El Cid to the recent rezoning that envisions Broadway Avenue on the city's northside as a grand boulevard, the need for credible municipal planning is key. Letter: Three strikes and you're out – unless you're developing Palm Beach County That can't happen under the leadership of a city leader who's thin-skinned enough to order a department head to fire a city employee who simply but accurately made a presentation during last month's city commission meeting. According to Greene, the mayor had expected the planner to emphasize reservations about the garage's size during the meeting before the vote. The planner didn't, only saying that the project met city standards. At that point, Greene went to the podium and explained that the staff had tried but failed to get the school to lower the garage height. Still, Greene concluded that staff thought the garage had met city standards, thus warranting approval. "He was expecting her to say certain things at the city presentation," Greene told the Post. "What she presented wasn't the exact wording that the mayor wanted." Although all city staff ultimately are answerable to the mayor in West Palm Beach, the call for termination was unjustified, unwarranted and resulted in the resignation of a longtime city official whose experience in overseeing the city's growth and large-scale development in the planning and zoning process will be sorely missed. Again, credit James with successfully obtaining a concession from the school and maintaining the city's long-term goal in addressing traffic and becoming more pedestrian-friendly. Now, he must renew confidence in that process and fill the void at planning and zoning with someone who will insist on objective analysis for projects coming to the commission. It's not a job for a yes-man. Finding the right person should be an easy task for a strong mayor. It will be a challenge for a small one. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach's PBAU garage goes ahead – with a price | Editorial
