In this school spotlight, we’re so proud to share how Charter School Capital helped Arizona College Prep Academy (ACPA), an Arizona charter school, finance their growth and expansion by providing the funding to purchase a new facility.
Arizona College Prep Academy
Planning, locating and securing facilities is challenging for most charter schools, as Arizona College Prep Academy in Tucson learned through experience.
The school opened in 1997 as an affiliate of AmeriSchools network and became an independent charter school in 2012. Growing and in need of a new facility, the school administrators were faced with unexpected challenges. Banks would not provide funding because they viewed Arizona College Prep as a new school and therefore a very high risk. Likewise, the school was ineligible for start-up school funds because it was a pre-established charter transfer. In an effort to find the resources they desperately needed, school officials contacted several third-party funding organizations. However, none came through. Enter Charter School Capital, the only organization with both the ability and desire to help.
“It was a blessing to find Charter School Capital,” says Freddy Mendoza, assistant principal at Arizona College Prep. “Working with them has been great. They have been very responsive, very communicative and very much about the school and the kids.” Introduced through the Arizona Charter School Association, the two organizations are happy to celebrate a multi-year partnership. Through this partnership, Charter School Capital has been able to help open doors for Arizona College Prep Academy.
The Challenge
The greatest challenge was finding a facility that met the school’s unique requirements. Most available commercial buildings are too large, too small or don’t meet code specifications for schools. Charter School Capital was able to offer not only financing for the building but expertise in charter school facilities planning as well.
“We couldn’t have even looked at a building like this without Charter School Capital,” says Mendoza. “They made deals available to us that wouldn’t have been otherwise. Once the deal was made, they were critical in helping us understand what we needed to do. Their team made it easy for us.”
The Solution
Charter School Capital provided the financing necessary to purchase the property and now leases that property to Arizona College Prep Academy.
Charter School Capital will retain ownership of the facility, alleviating the need for the school to spend time focused on building repairs and maintenance and instead focus on their mission – educating kids.
“We couldn’t have even looked at a building like this without Charter School Capital.”
~Freddy Mendoza
Assistant Principal, Arizona College Prep Academy
Results
Arizona College Prep will have the option to take ownership of the property in the future but for now, they appreciate the time to focus on their staff and students, making everyone comfortable in their new home and letting the community know the school is open for enrollment.
“Obviously this is a business deal and we look at the numbers but the focus keeps coming back to how we educate these students, which is what we value. Charter School Capital’s process of getting to know our school and what we’re about was great.”
Do you need to expand, renovate, or move your charter school? We’d love to support you. It’s our mission to help you educate more students, so we focus on providing products and services that enable you to meet – and exceed – both your growth and facility goals. When you succeed, we succeed—it’s that simple.
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