Long Beach : $50-Million Bond Sale Hurried Before Year’s End

The Long Beach Redevelopment Agency has announced plans to issue a $50-million tax allocation bond to help pay for projects in the downtown redevelopment area.

In issuing the bond before the end of the year, Long Beach joins many other redevelopment agencies which are hurrying to take advantage of current tax law before Congress passes new legislation which may curtail their ability to issue tax-exempt bonds.

The agency is expected to sell the bond Nov. 25 to the bidder who offers the lowest interest rate, and receive the proceeds in December. The agency hopes for an interest rate close to 9%, said Roger Anderman, assistant executive director.

Anderman said the money will be used to buy land in the redevelopment area, and “participate in key (redevelopment) projects.” The money also will help pay agency debts, which Anderman estimated at about $90 million. He called the $90 million “a technical figure” which includes “every penny” the agency owes.

Agency officials refused to be more specific about how the money will be used, citing the danger of inverse condemnation lawsuits, which can arise if a landowner loses money because a redevelopment agency has disclosed plans to redevelop his property. The bond will have a 20- to 24-year life and be repaid out of tax money, Anderman said.

The downtown redevelopment project also is supported by a $4.86-million bond the agency issued in 1979.