Dealmaker: Calmwater Capital Funds $32M Construction Loan to Complete California Mixed-Use Development

(Photo credit: SLSD Architecture)

Calmwater Capital, Los Angeles, provided GE Development with a $32.2 million construction loan to complete The One, an 81-unit multifamily development with 13,000-plus square feet of street-level retail in San Gabriel, Calif.

Calmwater’s financing will take out the original construction lender; a portion of the loan proceeds will fund hard and soft costs needed to bring the project to 100 percent completion. Zalmi Klyne and Karl Weidell in Northmarq’s Los Angeles office arranged the financing.

The property was 86% completed at loan closing.

“Undertaking projects mid-construction inherently involves various uncertainties and challenges, which can be particularly complex to manage,” Calmwater Managing Principal Larry Grantham said, noting Calmwater structured the loan to ensure the sponsor would have the necessary funds to address any contingencies.

Other members of the Calmwater team included Vice President Zach Novatt, who heads the firm’s originations efforts in the western United States, and Senior Associate DaJuan Bennett.

The transaction included an additional $3.75 million in subordinate financing from a Los Angeles-based alternative lender to reduce the borrower’s equity commitment.  

The One is being built on a nearly one-acre site at 101 East Valley Boulevard at the northeast corner of Del Mar Avenue, considered the center of San Gabriel’s commercial corridor. The One is directly across the street from the city’s landmark Focus Plaza, which is anchored by the popular ethnic grocery store 99 Ranch Market.  

When completed in the second quarter of this year, The One will deliver a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom market rate apartments in a four-story building. Due to good visibility from the heavily trafficked intersection, the sponsor has already signed two retail leases and accepted two letters of intent that represent 70 percent of the property’s retail space.