Dealmaker: Madison Newbond Lends $72M for Sonoma, Napa Valley Hotels

Madison Newbond, New York, originated a $72 million loan to Stratus Development Partners for two newly built hotels in Sonoma and Napa, Calif., operating under the Cambria brand.

Firas Turkmani and Evan Linkner at Ackman-Ziff brokered the financing for Newport Beach, Calif.-based Stratus.

The loan refinanced existing construction loans for the properties.

Napa and Sonoma Counties host more than 14 million tourists annually. With high barriers to local development approvals and rising construction costs, very few new competitive hotels are currently planned or under construction in both counties. Hotel occupancy in in Sonoma has increased 32 percent in the last twelve months and occupancy in Napa has increased 70 percent in the same period.

The 135-key Cambria Sonoma Wine Country opened in August 2020 in Rohnert Park, Calif. The hotel features northern California-inspired décor and full-service amenities including a restaurant and bar, a barista bar serving specialty coffee, and flexible meeting space. The 90-key Cambria Napa Valley opened in August 2021 with a modern two-story lobby and a full-service restaurant and bar. Each hotel has a franchise agreement with Choice Hotels International and is operated by San Diego-based Azul Hospitality Group.

Madison Newbond, the institutional lending platform of Madison Realty Capital and Newbond Holdings, launched in November 2021 with $500 million of initial lending capacity.