HUD to insure loan for Ellis

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bethany Bump

Ellis Medicine will save about $17.5 million in interest costs on a $54.8 million federal loan approved Wednesday for the consolidation of two existing emergency departments into the new Golub Center for Emergency Care.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has committed to insuring the mortgage, made possible through the Federal Housing Administration’s Section 241 Supplemental Mortgage Insurance Program. By insuring the loan, HUD enables Ellis to obtain financing that will allow it to save on interest over the life of the loan.

“This approval marks an important step forward for Ellis’ plans to better meet the growing health care needs of our communities,” Ellis President and CEO James Connolly said in a news release Wednesday. “We appreciate the support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Their approval shows that HUD has confidence in Ellis’ sound financial management and commitment to improving health care in our community.”

The modernization and expansion of the emergency room at Ellis’ Nott Street campus is part of a $78 million project that includes renovations at Bellevue’s Woman’s Hospital in Niskayuna and the construction of an urgent care center in Clifton Park.

Construction will begin in a few months. When the new emergency room is complete, Ellis will shut down the emergency department at its McClellan Street campus. Ellis receives about 85,000 visits between the two campuses.

A 212-space parking garage will be built at the main campus to accommodate the extra traffic.

“This plan will allow us to deliver the right services in the right location and enhance care through improved patient flow and privacy,” Ellis Vice President and COO Paul Milton said in the news release.

Ellis has two existing FHA-insured mortgages through the agency’s Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program, which provides HUD-insured mortgages made by private lending institutions to finance construction or renovation of acute care hospitals, including major equipment needed to operate the facilities.

“By helping to make these projects possible, FHA is not only helping to modernize health care facilities, it is also contributing to the financial wellbeing of communities by enabling investments that create jobs and support local economies,” said FHA Acting Commissioner Carol Galante.

HUD estimates the project will support more than 450 full-time jobs and boost economic development in the community by more than $177 million.