Behind the Deal: Seven Hills Preparatory Academy
Securing Funding for Campus Relocation Project
Founded in 2006, Seven Hills Preparatory Academy is an award-winning K-8 public charter school serving students as a single community from two locations. The Elementary School serves Grades K–5 and the Middle School serves Grades 6–8, enrolling approximately 1,100+ students and employing 130+ administrators, teachers, specialists, and staff. Seven Hills Preparatory Academy empowers students with a rigorous and inclusive Classical education, preparing each one for engagement in diverse communities and lifelong learning.
Currently, the school has two campus locations, the Bloomington Campus (K-5) and the Richfield Campus (K-8), with plans to relocate the Bloomington Campus in the fall of 2024 to Burnsville, Minnesota. Therefore, Seven Hills Preparatory Academy needed to finance the acquisition and renovation of a 62,000 square foot facility in Burnsville which will serve as the relocation campus. Additionally, the school needed to refund and defease its outstanding Series 2017 Bonds and finance capital improvements for a 75,000 square foot facility in Richfield, Minnesota which is leased to Seven Hills Preparatory Academy by its affiliated building company.
Baird’s National Charter School Finance team served as placement agent on the non-rated 37-year fixed rate financing for Seven Hills Preparatory Academy. Baird privately placed the Series 2024 Bonds with three different investors and secured a True Interest Cost (TIC) of 6.344%.
