Healdsburg, Calif. – Gantry, the largest independent commercial mortgage banking firm in the U.S., has secured a $7.15 million construction-to-permanent loan for the build-to-suit development of dedicated facilities serving Auteur Wines, a California vintner-founded winery specializing in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The project will result in a production winery, tasting room and vineyard on 8.2-acres of land at 10520 Wohler Road in Healdsburg, Calif.

Gantry’s Jeff Wilcox, Principal, and Andrew Ferguson, Associate, with the firm’s San Francisco production office represented the borrower, a private real estate investor. The 20-year construction-to-permanent fixed-rate loan was provided by one of Gantry’s banking relationships and features an initial interest only period transitioning to 18-year amortization.

According to Gantry’s Jeff Wilcox, “For construction projects like Auteur’s with compelling relevancy and experienced sponsorship, funding is available from a range of lenders. As the winery’s reputation has grown, so has demand for its award-wining wines. The new faclities will maintain Auteur’s control over its inputs and provide a home for an experiential immersion in its wine offerings and production culture. We reviewed this requirement across a roster of potential sources specializing in agricultural financing. That careful review ultimately resulted in a bank loan optimized to meet the project’s cost structure and legacy hold strategy. That being said, it took almost a full year to finalize funding. This has been a challenging cycle for developers and their lenders due to the combined impacts of supply chain disruptions, inflationary conditions, and the higher cost of debt capital. We are starting to see a stabilization of budgets and capital costs and expect 2024 to be the beginning of a turnaround for new development starts.”