Transaction Details

Carol Stream Park District

Municipal

Lead Bookrunner

Executing a Three-Series Financing to Meet Refunding and Capital Objectives  

Background
The Carol Stream Park District (the District) is located in DuPage County, Illinois, and serves the Village of Carol Stream and surrounding communities in the western suburbs of Chicago. The District provides a wide range of recreational programs, facilities, and open space amenities designed to enhance quality of life for residents of all ages. With a continued focus on maintaining and improving its parks and facilities, the District periodically accesses the capital markets to support long-term infrastructure needs while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

In 2025, the Carol Stream Park District sought to refinance outstanding obligations and fund ongoing park and facility improvements. With a strong underlying credit profile and a desire to balance long-term capital needs with taxpayer considerations, the District required a financing strategy that could accommodate multiple bond structures while preserving flexibility and market appeal.

Opportunity
Market conditions presented an opportunity for the District to refund existing debt and secure capital funding while maintaining manageable tax rates. The financing involved multiple series with differing sizes, maturities, and tax treatments, creating complexity in both structuring and execution. The District’s objective was to generate strong investor demand across all series while achieving efficient execution and preserving pricing flexibility in the municipal market.

Solution
Baird structured a three-series general obligation bond financing totaling $11,610,000, with each series designed to address a specific financing objective of the District. The transaction included $9,245,000 tax-exempt General Obligation Refunding Park Bonds (Series 2025A), $1,500,000 tax-exempt General Obligation Limited Tax Park Bonds (Series 2025B), and $865,000 of Taxable General Obligation Limited Tax Refunding Park Bonds (Series 2025C). Together, the three series provided the District with an efficient solution to refinance outstanding obligations, fund capital improvements, and align long-term debt service with tax rate considerations.

The Series 2025A tax-exempt bonds were structured as a shorter serial maturity deal extending to 2037 with a 2033 optional call, incorporating meaningful size in the 2034 and 2035 maturities to anchor demand. For Series 2025B, Baird utilized a 5.25% coupon structure across term bonds maturing in 2042, 2044, and 2047, allowing the District to maximize proceeds while carefully managing its tax rate. The Series 2025C taxable bonds were structured as a small term bond maturing in 2050 to efficiently address the District’s taxable refunding needs. All three series were insured by Assured Guaranty, enhancing marketability and supporting the AA insured rating.

Implementation
The transaction was executed with a retail-focused order period that generated early momentum and strong participation from individual investors. Baird actively managed the order book throughout the pricing process, underwriting select maturities where appropriate and adjusting pricing levels in response to investor demand. The Series 2025A bonds achieved solid subscription levels across most maturities, enabling the underwriting team to limit exposure to only $365,000 in the 2035 maturity at the conclusion of the order period. The Series 2025B bonds experienced particularly strong demand in the 2047 term, which was approximately 4x subscribed, allowing pricing to be improved by four basis points. The remaining Series 2025B terms and the Series 2025C taxable bonds were met with balanced demand, resulting in smooth execution across all series.

Results & Impact
The Carol Stream Park District successfully completed a multi-series financing that met its refunding and capital funding objectives while maintaining tax rate discipline. Strong retail and institutional participation supported favorable pricing outcomes, selective pricing adjustments, and efficient execution across all three series. The transaction highlights Baird’s ability to manage complex, multi-structure financings and deliver thoughtful solutions aligned with issuer priorities and long-term financial goals.