Borrowing a fundraising page from Canada’s largest university, Huron University College has gone to the bond market to fund a new 300-bed residence, dining hall and top-to-bottom redo of an aging dorm.

The Western University affiliate on Western Road has raised $85 million for the capital projects through bonds and aims to break ground this summer.

“We knew we wanted to build a new residence. We knew we wanted to upgrade some of our existing facilities, so we had two or three multimillion-dollar projects in mind,” said Barry Craig, president and vice-chancellor of Huron University College.

“A conventional loan is one way to do it, but you’re looking at taking out two or three loans. Then we thought about the idea of a bond.”

The bond offering will cover all of Huron’s foreseeable capital plans at once, Craig said. Bonds are loans from an investor to a borrower, similar to an IOU.

While Western and the University of Toronto have offered bonds in the past, it’s an uncommon strategy for smaller institutions, Craig said. Huron’s board worked with consultants to see if the financing method would work.

Huron received an investment grade rating by Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS) Morningstar, the world’s fourth-largest credit ratings agency. The Western affiliate then offered bonds to investors.

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