Hall Structured Finance, Nuveen Green Capital Lend $46M for Santa Barbara Hotel Project

Hospitality development firm stratus development partners has secured a $46.3 million debt package to develop a Marriott-branded hotel in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Hall Structured Finance provided a $30 million first lien construction loan for the developer’s 105-key Marriott Tribute Santa Barbara project, the lender announced Thursday. Nuveen Green Capital (NGC) also originated a $16.3 million Commercial Property Assessment Clean Energy (C-PACE) loan for the four-story hotel.

“Several factors make this an attractive opportunity, from the limited hotel pipeline in Santa Barbara to the project’s prime location near East Beach and Downtown,” Brad Ferguson, the vice president of Hall Structured Finance, said in a statement. 

The 105-key Marriott Tribute Santa Barbara is described by Hall Structured Finance as a “boutique lifestyle hotel” that will include views of both the ocean and mountains within a five-minute walk of East Beach. Community amenities will include 3,000 square feet of meeting space, an outdoor lounge and a fitness center. 

Aidan McLaughlin, the director of originations for NGC’s West Coast, said the C-PACE funds will be utilized for the project’s energy efficiency measures including strengthening seismic  measures, lighting and ventilation systems. He noted that Hall has been “great partners” in closing recent deals. 

“Their continued inclusion of C-PACE in the capital stacks of many of their deals reinforces to the market that C-PACE is a cost-effective and turnkey financing mechanism,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “This latest transaction for the Marriott Tribute Hotel in Santa Barbara highlights C-PACE’s rapid expansion and overall growth, and reinforces NGC as the market leader – particularly as the firm approaches $1 billion in cumulative C-PACE originations on the West Coast in just the past 24 months.”

NGC also teamed up with Hall Structured Finance this past spring for a $68.9 million financing package for Uphoff Ventures to develop a 208-room hotel and resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wisc. Hall supplied a $41.3 million senior loan, and NGC originated $27.77 million of C-PACE  debt as part of the transaction for the Dellshire Resort project. 

Officials at Stratus Development Partners did not immediately return a request for comment.

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.