PENSACOLA, FL—Florida’s smaller markets are seeing some early refi action in 2012. Cordova Commons and Tradewinds Shopping Center, two retail centers spanning 354,245 square feet, secured $29 million in financing.

HFF senior managing director Paul Stasaitis and director Chris Drew worked on behalf of the borrowers, VIF II Cordova Associates LLC and VIF II Tradewinds Associates LLC to secure the five-year, floating-rate loan through US Bank NA. The borrowers are both joint ventures of GMH Capital Partners and AEW Capital Management L.P.

“We went to the market to all sorts of groups, from banks CMBS, life companies, and so forth,” Stasaitis tells GlobeSt.com. “Our best terms came from the banking world and that offered us some flexibility and that’s what we were trying to achieve. The new loan takes down the existing debt and provides capital for TI and ongoing reserves.”