Centra Health and Virginia Episcopal School are planning major improvements to their Lynchburg campuses with the help of bonds issued by the local economic development authority, pending approval from the Lynchburg City Council on Tuesday.
Centra Health, a regional nonprofit healthcare system that provides medical services in central and southern Virginia, is requesting $365 million in EDA revenue bonds to make improvements to Lynchburg General Hospital. Bond proceeds would be used to finance multiple projects on the hospital campus, according to Centra’s bond application, including constructing a new six-story medical facility, expanding the emergency department, and making additions to perioperative and labor and delivery services.
The improvements are part of a plan that Centra launched in 2023 to expand its operations to meet the demands of modern healthcare. The plan includes consolidating specialty clinics into the Centra Langhorne Medical Center, a new five-story office building that opened in December, building a medical campus on Simons Run and phasing services out of the century-old Virginia Baptist Hospital.
Virginia Episcopal School, a private preparatory boarding and day school, is requesting $25 million in EDA revenue bonds to support the continued modernization of its campus, including renovating a historic dormitory, making improvements to athletic fields and completing deferred maintenance, according to its bond application.
Financing opportunities like these are what economic development authorities were created for, said Marjette Upshur, Lynchburg’s director of economic development and tourism. Lynchburg’s authority is a political subdivision of the state that works behind the scenes to strengthen local economies by connecting businesses with the resources and incentives they need to develop and invest, according to its website.
EDA revenue bonds are attractive to borrowers because they generally offer better interest rates than conventional bank financing, Upshur said. They’re attractive to the city, too, because it and the authority are “merely a conduit” and have no financial liability for the bonds, she said. Only Centra and Virginia Episcopal School would make payments for the bonds, and the city would have no debt or obligations for them, according to Tuesday’s agenda packet.
The bonds are available to tax-exempt organizations, Upshur said, which in Lynchburg largely means a pool of educational institutions and healthcare services.
Centra’s and Virginia Episcopal School’s bond applications will go before the city’s finance committee at 3 p.m. and then head to the full council for a vote at 7 p.m.
In between, the city council will host a work session to discuss the city’s 2027 fiscal year budget, a possible amendment to the city’s abortion zoning ordinance, a review of the city’s emergency response to the winter storm in late January, and more.
All agenda items and their summaries can be found on the city’s website ahead of Tuesday’s meetings.
