Northmarq has arranged a $45 million permanent loan for The Blending House, a specialized bourbon storage and post-distillation facility located on a 108-acre site at 1917 Vigo Road in Shelby County, Kentucky. The financing was led by Senior Vice President Randall Waddell from Northmarq’s Louisville office.
The Blending House is a collaborative development involving The Koetter Group and The Spirits Group. The campus is designed to support Kentucky’s bourbon and spirits industry with infrastructure tailored to post-distillation operations.
Northmarq secured the financing on behalf of the borrower through its relationship with MetLife Agricultural Finance. The new permanent fixed-rate loan carries a seven-year term and replaces the construction financing that was previously arranged by Waddell. The refinancing transitions the asset from its development phase into long-term, stabilized financing.
Waddell noted that the loan execution was supported by the property’s specialized nature, its strong leasing profile and the sponsor’s experience. He emphasized that the combination of state-of-the-art bourbon storage and integrated post-distillation capabilities positions the facility as an important component of Kentucky’s spirits infrastructure.
The recently completed campus includes seven premium rickhouses that utilize The Koetter Group’s K-RAX barrel storage system. In addition, the property features a 33,500-square-foot blending and bottling facility built specifically for post-distillation requirements.
The Blending House integrates multiple functions on a single campus, including maturation and storage, bulk whiskey sourcing, blending, bottling and back-office support for third-party spirits brands. As of the financing, the campus is reported to be more than 95 percent leased.
