Monterey-Salinas Transit receives $8.45 million loan for South County facility

KING CITY, Calif. (KION) Monterey-Salinas Transit announced that it has been approved for a loan to help finance the construction of a new South County Operations and Maintenance Facility in King City.

The 14,000 square-foot facility will act as a base in South Monterey County where the company says it will operate its services. The base is expected to reduce deadhead mileage, fuel usage, maintenance and labor costs and risk of mechanical issues.

The loan amounts to $8.45 million, and it comes from the Department of Transportation's Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Rural Project Initiative. MST says the loan has a no-fee, 35-year fixed interest rate equal to a half of the U.S. Treasury rate, or .78%.

“Accessible and affordable public transportation is vital for our way of life on the Central Coast. That’s why it’s important that our transportation agencies have access to capital for the resources necessary to adequately and safely operate in our many cities,” said Congressman Jimmy Panetta. “This TIFIA loan will help MST with its operations throughout the Salinas Valley and further allow it to fulfill its goal of providing quality transportation services to everybody in every one of our communities.”

The groundbreaking ceremony for the site was held on July 10, and the project is expected to be finish in fall 2021.