The affiliate of San Francisco-based Shorenstein Co. secured a nonrecourse mortgage loan through the New York branch of Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale, a Germany-based bank that reported assets of about $246 billion in fiscal year 2000.

"This is just the owner refinancing the existing indebtedness with a new lender," Francisco Menendez, a lawyer in the Miami offices of Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, tells GlobeSt.com. "There was nothing unusual about it at all. It actually went very smoothly."

Menendez represented the Munich-based bank as local counsel in partnership with Joshua Stein, a partner in the New York law firm of Latham & Watkins, and associates Leigh Hellner-Cord and Kyle Hook.

"The value I added pertained to local laws and ordinances," Menendez says. "Given the short time frame on the closing, we assisted the lender with due diligence matters."

SRI Miami retained the international law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop, with Laura Hannusch, Barry Langman and Christine Shen handling negotiations. Jon Chassen of Miami-based Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan & Berlin represented the company as local counsel.

The bank refinanced a property that is reporting 95% occupancy on about 1.1 million sf of leaseable space, according to information Shorenstein Realty Services, the property manger and another Shorenstein Co. affiliate, publishes on its Internet Web Site (http://www.fufc.com).