development Financing For Landowners

Owner-side financing without giving up the property

Most landowners don’t get stuck because the site is bad — they get stuck because the capital structure puts them last.

In most developer-led deals, the land is tied up under terms that delay or even block the owner’s control of the project. We work with owners who want to keep ownership, build the value themselves, and bring in capital the right way — without signing away the upside.

Why Developer-Led Capitalization Fails Landowners

Developers don’t need to own the land to control the deal — they only need to control the entitlement window. This usually happens through a long feasibility escrow, an option contract, or a conditional purchase agreement that drags on until permits are in hand.

During that period, the developer decides how the property is positioned and what direction it takes — but the landowner is locked out of decisions. And since most of these agreements are structured to allow the developer to walk away, they have no obligation to close, even after years of “progress.” When they do back out, the owner often has nothing to show for it — not even a feasibility report or a clear development path to re-market the property.

This is why most “developer partnerships” end with owners waiting, not earning.

Developer Walk-Away

Owner-Side Development Financing

We structure capital on behalf of the owner, not the developer.

Make the project financeable

We engineer viability that appeals to serious capital.

Package it correctly

Presenting the opportunity clearly for lenders and investors.

Sequence the capital stack

Structuring capital in the right order for maximum efficiency.

Form the JV only after feasibility

Aligning interests only when the project’s success is proven.

We are not consultants. We are not typical developers. We are not brokers.

We are the development function on the owner’s side.

When Land Can (and Cannot) Be Used as Leverage

Land can sometimes unlock early capital, but not automatically — and never before feasibility.

Lenders, especially bridge lenders, fund only when they can clearly see how they’ll get repaid.

That exit path is usually:

a construction loan; or
a sale with proven margin to cover payoff.

If neither path is realistic, there is no financing. That’s why we first work through feasibility, entitlement, and financial modeling — to make the project bankable before anyone approaches a lender.

The sequence is deliberate: build viability first, borrow second.

The Lender Logic

NO VIABILITY → NO FINANCING

VIABILITY (Feasibility/Entitlement) →
EXIT PATH (Loan/Sale)

FINANCING SECURED

How We Build the Capital Stack (In Order)

Our methodical 7-step process minimizes risk and maximizes your equity position.

1️⃣

Owner funds early feasibility + entitlement strategy

This validates viability and signals seriousness.

2️⃣

Project becomes financeable

We produce the package lenders and investors can actually evaluate.

3️⃣

Land leverage

Possible only when the entitlement path and exit are credible.

4️⃣

GP capital syndication

We raise development-level funds from HNW investors aligned with the ownership structure.

5️⃣

LP or preferred equity

Institutional funds, family offices, or syndicated investors based on project profile.

6️⃣

Senior debt

Traditional lenders or private credit sources, depending on the capital plan.

7️⃣

New LLC formed

The land is contributed, GIS joins as the development member, and everyone’s roles are defined.

What We Do During the Financing Phase

Our job isn’t to “find money.” It’s to make the project ready for money.

This isn’t brokerage work. It’s capital engineering — execution that gives lenders and investors confidence that the project will deliver.

Capital Engineering

JV Alignment — After the Project Is Real

We don’t ask for ownership to “be in the deal.” We earn it through performance — once the project is viable.

Our upside begins after: