The Colorado Department of Transportation is asking investment firms to submit applications to handle a $1.2 billion bond offering that is contingent on voter approval of two hotly debated ballot measures.
If passed by voters, Referendums C and D would let state government keep more tax money that would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, known as TABOR.
Referendum C would provide financing to pay the bonds back, said Tom Norton, CDOT’s executive director. Referendum D would authorize CDOT to issue bonds to finance 55 road projects.
For the bond sale to occur, both C and D would need to pass.
“We can’t sign any contracts until after the vote, but it gives us a little bit of a head start,” Norton said when asked why proposals were sent out two weeks before the vote. “It’s pretty standard.”
Pending approval, the department would select four to six underwriters to handle the sale. The offering probably would be broken into four $300 million bond sales.
Institutional investors would be expected to snap up a majority of the bonds, with state and regional investors buying the rest, Norton said.
The sale would take place in February or March, with construction scheduled to start in the spring.
The list of road improvements includes: $43 million for reconstruction at Interstate 70 and Quebec Street; $63.5 million for a roadway widening and interchange improvements at U.S. 6 and Wads- worth Boulevard; and $95 million for improvements along Interstate 25 near Colorado Springs.
The sale would be the largest bond offering for the department since a $1.5 billion sale in 2003 that financed projects across the state.
Investment firms have until Oct. 28 to submit applications.
The department expects to receive applications from at least a dozen firms, but it could field up to 50.
While the applications will come from banking firms across the U.S., Norton said the winning institutions probably will have offices in Colorado.
“We need somebody who knows Colorado,” Norton said.
Stifel Nicolaus & Co., a St. Louis-based investment firm with operations in Denver, plans to submit a proposal.
“We are hopeful” of winning the contract, said Stifel’s Michael Imhoff.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-820-1260 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
