Rifkind notes that the proposed development's exceptional location and class-A quality resulted in a loan-per-unit cost that was much higher than other completed comps in the market. "For lenders, many of which are already hesitant to lend in Las Vegas, this discrepancy in cost was a potential roadblock," he says.

To bypass that roadblock, the GSP team focused on the value and stability of the proposed project, as well as the considerable experience of the joint venture developers. "The Calida Group and Cypress Equity Investments have a strong track record of developing quality product in the Las Vegas market, and we leveraged that success in order to identify the right lender for this deal," says Rifkind.

Douglas Eisner, co-founder and managing director of the Calida Group explains, "When we bought the land for Elysian at the District, we knew it was a once-in-a-cycle opportunity, and we designed a project that honored the quality of the location."

Eisner added that "developing trophy assets in a recovering economy has its challenges… By becoming our sounding board and stress testing all of our assumptions, not only could they [GSP] communicate the opportunity more effectively to our lenders, but they added credibility to our underwriting."

Rifkind adds that GSP worked with "multiple senior construction lenders within its large network of financiers to ultimately secure the most competitive financing for the client."

The solution on the $51-million construction financing was the combination of a mezzanine loan and a senior loan, obtained by negotiating an inter-creditor agreement with two separate providers.