In Just Over 60 Days, $562 Million in Financing was Secured by Lehi, Utah-based Reef Capital Partners for Two Major Luxury Real Estate Resort Projects

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

✅ Two projects under development by Lehi-based Reef Capital Partners secured approximately $562 million in new financing between June 23 and now:

▪️ $431 million for Coco Palms in Kauaʻi, Hawaii; and

▪️ Another $131 million for Marcella Landing at Deer Valley East Village.

✅ Including the $182.2 million in financing landed for Marcella earlier this year, X-Caliber Capital Holdings and its affiliates, are now providing ~$744 million in financing across these two Reef Capital projects.

26 August 2026 — LEHI, Utah; WASATCH COUNTY, Utah; and WAILUA, Kauaʻi, Hawaii — In just over 60 days (from 23 June to 24 August 2026) two resort projects under development by Lehi, Utah-based Reef Capital Partners have secured approximately $562 million in new financing.

The first was funding for Coco Palms, the long-stalled redevelopment of a historic Kauaʻi, Hawaii resort that has been closed since Hurricane Iniki struck the island in 1992.

The second was financing for Marcella Landing, Reef Capital's 50-townhome luxury residential project at Deer Valley East Village in greater Park City, Utah.

Clearly, the projects are separated by roughly 3,000 miles and differ substantially in history, markets, and execution risk, but their financing has a great deal in common.

Both projects use X-Caliber Capital Holdings' Rural PACE-X financing structure, which combines conventional senior-secured debt with Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, also known as C-PACE.

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: As described by ChatGPT Pro, "C-PACE is an unusual hybrid of public authority and private capital. Born from a municipal-finance innovation in Berkeley in 2008, PACE allows private lenders to finance qualifying real-estate improvements using a voluntary government-authorized assessment attached to the property. C-PACE is the commercial form of PACE that developed from that model."}

Including Marcella's $182 million Phase I financing in January 2026, X-Caliber and its affiliates have now disclosed $744.2 million in financing commitments across the two Reef Capital developments.

That makes the projects a useful window into how Reef Capital is financing some of the largest developments in its growing destination-real-estate portfolio.

Follow the Money: Over $744 Million Across Two Reef Capital Development Projects

The financing is easiest to understand when the three transactions are combined under a single lens.

For Coco Palms, X-Caliber announced $431 million of financing on June 23, monies consisting of

🟢  $185.6 million of conventional senior-secured financing through an affiliate of X-Caliber Rural Capital, plus

🟢  $245.35 million of C-PACE financing through CastleGreen Finance.

Together, those loans represent 80% loan-to-cost financing for the Coco Palms project.

For Marcella Landing, X-Caliber first announced $182.2 million in January as $107.2 million of conventional senior-secured financing and $75 million of C-PACE capital.

This week's announcement about Marcella's second funding package added another $131 million to the money stack with

▪️ $64 million of conventional senior-secured construction financing, and

▪️ $67 million of C-PACE financing,

taking X-Caliber's total disclosed Reef Capital commitments to just over $313 million for its Marcella project.

Across Coco Palms' and Marcella's combined fundings, Reef Capital's resulting capital stack is approximately:

🔹 $356.8 million of conventional senior-secured financing; and

🔹 $387.35 million of C-PACE financing;

for a total of ~$744.2 million.

C-PACE monies, therefore, represent just over 52% of the disclosed financing across the two projects.

The Repeat Financing Relationship

As noted above, C-PACE funding mechanisms allow owners and developers to

🔺 Finance eligible energy-efficiency, resiliency and infrastructure improvements

🔺 Through a property-assessment mechanism,

🔺 Typically with longer repayment periods than conventional construction financing.

For Reef Capital, however, the more revealing point is how X-Caliber is pairing that capital with senior-secured financing.

As explained on its website, X-Caliber says Rural PACE-X was designed to combine those two sources inside one coordinated capital structure. Its published product parameters generally allow 75% to 85% loan-to-cost financing, depending on local C-PACE statutes.

At Coco Palms, the conventional loan portion is intended to provide construction-through-stabilization financing for as long as five years, while the C-PACE component is intended as longer-duration capital.

And the Marcella project follows the same basic structure.

The relationship goes beyond the product.

Coco Palms: Financing a Difficult Redevelopment

The financing strategy for the Coco Palms redevelopment project is easier to understand because it is anything but a conventional endeavor.

The story begins in 2022 when Reef Capital acquired the property through state court foreclosure proceedings.

Contextually, the 32-acre Wailua resort has been closed since Hurricane Iniki damaged the property in 1992, and multiple redevelopment efforts by previous ownership groups failed over the following three decades.

When finished, Reef Capital's plans for Coco Palms call for

🔷 A 351-room resort, with

🔷 Restoration of historic structures,

🔷 Reconstructed accommodations,

🔷 Infrastructure work, and

🔹 Restored dining,

🔹 Retail, and

🔹 Event spaces.

Current Coco Palms informational materials say below-grade work is underway and target a 2028 opening, with

🟣 Coco Palms Hui, a Reef Capital subsidiary, owning the property; 

🟣 Highgate slated to operate the hotel; and 

🟣 With Coco Palms established as a Kimpton brand property.

In researching this story, it's clear that Coco Palms has also carried a complicated redevelopment history

⚫️ Ranging from litigation to permitting disputes, as well as from

⚫️ Community opposition and concerns involving Native Hawaiian cultural resources, all of which is further impacted by

⚫️ The site's coastal setting.

Following the financing announcement, Honolulu Civil Beat reported that skepticism remains among some Kauaʻi residents after decades of redevelopment plans failed to produce a reopened resort.

As noted by Jon Day, Reef Capital's Chief Financial Officer:

"Coco Palms is listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Hawaii Register of Historic Places, and we don’t take that lightly. Restoring this property means honoring the culture, history, and people of Kauai at every step, and we are committed to doing exactly that."

Marcella Landing: $313.2 Million Across 50 Townhomes

It appears, however, that Marcella Landing presents a different kind of test.

The gated development consists of 50 Olson Kundig-designed townhomes at Deer Valley East Village, with direct ski access and membership privileges through Marcella.

The latest $131 million financing supports Phase II vertical construction and related infrastructure. Combined with January's financing, Reef Capital has secured $313.2 million for Marcella-related funding.

Public Wasatch County records provide additional detail on how the two C-PACE financings align with the development.

The county's first agreement authorized an assessment of as much as $75 million against Units 1 through 28.

A second agreement, executed Aug. 17, authorizes the new $67 million C-PACE assessment against Units 29 through 50, which effectively covers the balance of the planned residences.

The newest assessment can mature over as long as 30 years. The agreement also states that Wasatch County is not responsible for repayment and that the financing is not an obligation of the county or a charge against its general credit or taxing power.

Marcella townhomes are currently being marketed at prices starting at $9 million.

On a simple per-unit basis, the $313.2 million of disclosed financing across 50 planned residences equals about $6.26 million per townhome.

That is not a construction-cost figure alone, as the financing also supports infrastructure, common improvements, a private ski lodge and an amenity center.

But it illustrates the amount of capital being committed to Reef Capital for a relatively small number of high-end residences as Deer Valley East Village continues its broader buildout.

Reef Capital Is Much Bigger Than Either Project

The common denominator is a privately held, Lehi, Utah-based luxury real estate company that has expanded well beyond its home market.

Reef Capital describes itself as a vertically integrated, real estate investment, development, and operations firm that says it has more than $2 billion in development projects across destinations including Deer Valley, Park City, Black Desert Resort, Lake Anna, Hawaii, and Telluride.

Reef Capital's current luxury real-estate portfolio includes

🟥  Black Desert Resort and Marcella in Utah, along with

🟥  Coco Palms,

🟥  Cormont,

🟥  Cornerstone Club,

🟥  Tributer Resort, and

🟥  Sweetens Cove.

That does not mean Coco Palms and Marcella represent a funding template for every Reef Capital project.

I do believe, however, that it suggests that two of Reef Capital's current and more capital-intensive developments are now relying on the same financing ecosystem.

To me, that is a pattern worth watching.

So bravo to the Reef Capital team for closing these most recent fundings.

Publisher's Note

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