NAPLES, FL-Gulf Shores Associates LP has obtained a permanent loan of $12.6 million for the SunTrust Building at 801 Laurel Oak Dr. Tim Harwood and Bill Catanzaro of the Stamford, CT office of L.J. Melody & Co. arranged the financing from lender Bear Sterns. The proceeds refinanced and defeased an existing loan on the property.

Without disclosing the terms or interest rate of the new financing, Harwood says the low rate of the new loan "increased the borrower's cash flow despite the addition of defeasance costs to the previous loan balance. Real estate finance packages that include defeasance costs have become a big part of our business," explaining that at today's lower rates, even though defeasance costs raise the amount of the loan, they don't increase risk to the lender, "especially when backed by a class A, income-producing property."

SunTrust is a seven-story, 66,995-sf property, which was completed in 1983. It fronts the west side of Tamiami Trail North in an unincorporated portion of Collier County called "North Naples, a rapidly growing area," according to Harwood. The building is currently 100% leased.