Insurance firm buys First State Bank building

BUYER: Stanley Dean Insurance Agency Inc. (principals: Stanley Dean, Tracey Ganner and Tracy Kelley), Venice

SELLER: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver for First State Bank

PROPERTY: 1729 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice

PRICE: $850,000

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.55 million, March 2007

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: American Title Insurance, Clearwater

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The Stanley Dean Insurance Agency Inc. purchased the 6,292-square-foot First State Bank building for $850,000.

The price equated to $135 per square foot.

The insurance agency is not new to the property. In early 2007, Stanley Dean's development company, Venice Development Inc., sold the building to First State Bank for $2.55 million. The insurance agency operated from the building prior to the sale and for a while afterward until its new building was ready.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. closed Sarasota-based First State Bank Aug. 7, 2009. Its deposits and assets were taken over by St. Could, Minn.-based Stearns Bank, which closed this branch, at the intersection of Shamrock Boulevard and U.S. 41. The building occupies a third of an acre.

Dan O'Berski and Matt Frederickson of CB Richard Ellis, Fort Myers/Naples handled the transaction.

Executives with Stanley Dean Insurance Agency couldn't be reached for comment. However, a notice of commencement filed in Sarasota shows the firm is already installing drywall, ceiling tile, doors and frames in the building. Mathur & Gerdes Inc. of Bradenton is the contractor for the work.

The Stanley Dean Insurance Agency mortgaged the property to Gateway Bank of Southwest Florida for $425,000.