Sonnenblick-Eichner arranges $35.4M in financing for three California Best Westerns

Sonnenblick-Eichner Company arranged three separate long-term fixed-rate loans totaling $35.4 million for the refinancing of Best Western Plus hotels located in Lake Tahoe, Sacramento and San Diego, Calif.

Representing a long-time Southern California-based developer and operator of hospitality properties, Vista Investments, Sonnenblick-Eichner secured $15 million in first-mortgage debt on the 100-room Best Western Plus Truckee-Tahoe hotel, and a separate non-cross-collateralized $7-million loan on the 105-room Best Western Plus Rancho Cordova in the Sacramento metro area. After acquiring the Tahoe property in 2013, the borrower reflagged the hotel as a Best Western Plus following a two-year, multimillion-dollar renovation. The Best Western Rancho Cordova has undergone several renovations since being acquired in 2006.  

Sonnenblick-Eichner Company also arranged $13.4 million leasehold first mortgage financing on tribal land to refinance the 173-room Best Western Plus Marina Gateway in National City, seven miles south of downtown San Diego.  

“The Marina Gateway transaction was a leasehold financing subject to tribal land ownership. We were successful in navigating through all the nuances to satisfy the rating agencies and ultimately the B-piece buyer,” Elliot Eichner, principal at Sonnenblick-Eichner.

“There is an abundance of capital and interest rates are still attractive for hospitality loans of all brands and product types,” said David Sonnenblick, principal at Sonnenblick-Eichner. “The lenders on these 10-year fixed rate loans were attracted by the quality of the assets, location and historical cash flow of all three hotels.” 

Vista Investments is a fully integrated hotel development and management company that owns, develops, and manages hospitality assets in high-barrier-to-entry markets on the West Coast. Their full suite of services includes hotel development, design, management and franchising.