Dealmaker: Calmwater Capital Funds $17M Multifamily Construction Loan
(Illustration courtesy of Calmwater Capital)
Calmwater Capital, El Segundo, Calif., provided San Diego-based Greenline Development Group with a $16.5 million construction loan on a 69-unit multifamily property in San Diego.
“We were able to step in after the original lender pulled out of the deal within a week of the scheduled close and were able to get this across the finish line in 29 days,” Calmwater Director Zach Novatt said. Novatt heads the firm’s originations efforts in the western United States.
Novatt noted traditional construction lenders, most notably regional banks, who have been the primary source for construction lending have pulled back significantly. MSCR Real Estate Capital Analytics, New York, reported construction financing dropped 38% in 2023.
“We see an opportunity to fill that void, especially on fundamentally sound projects with strong sponsorship, and the Greenline project was an example of just that,” Novatt added.
Jason Moyal, managing director of Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Max Benjamin Partners, arranged the financing.
At delivery in the second quarter of 2026, the seven-story building at 3729 10th Ave will feature a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. Five of the units will be considered affordable. Common-area amenities will include a rooftop terrace and a ground floor tenant lounge and coworking space.
The property sits three miles north of downtown San Diego. A vibrant uptown neighborhood, walkable to area bars, restaurants, boutiques and shops on Fifth Avenue, Hillcrest has one of the densest populations of residents aged 25- 34 in San Diego with 70% of them renters, according to CoStar.
“Many lenders and investors, especially those out of state, mistakenly–and to their detriment–view the regulatory environment in California as a whole,” Calmwater Managing Principal Larry Grantham noted. “With our roots in the state, we understand how the policy framework in California differs from market to market and even submarket to submarket. Market fundamentals clearly supported the need for new quality product in a business-friendly city like San Diego.”
This is Greenline’s second project under development in the San Diego market with two more sites currently going through the entitlement process.
