NORWOOD, MA-A Boston-based multifamily real estate investor has snagged one of New England's largest apartment communities, with Berkshire Realty Advisors reportedly paying $160 million for Windsor Gardens. The 57-acre complex is being harvested by General Investment & Development, another local firm that, like Berkshire, owns dozens of apartment properties nationally.

Berkshire president David Quade confirms to GlobeSt.com that his company has acquired the development, but declined further comment on the matter. The asset was marketed by Cushman & Wakefield of Massachusetts. Calls to the leaders of the firm's multifamily investment sales team, Simon Butler and Biria St. John, were not returned by press deadline.

The sale of Windsor Gardens caps an active year for multifamily transactions in New England, as detailed in the latest version of Debt & Equity Journal. The Norwood sale and another just completed in Quincy brings the multifamily properties brokered by C&W's group above the $1 billion mark for the year, possibly exceeding $1.2 billion. As indicated in DEJ, C&W negotiated another substantial apartment sale south of Boston, with Northland Investment Co. of Newton buying Highlands at Faxon Woods in Quincy for close to $35 million.

According to Berkshire's website, the company owns 40 multifamily communities in the US prior to the Norwood purchase, with a concentration in the southeast where the company owns 18 properties in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Other assets are in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. The company apparently owned nothing in the New England market prior to the Norwood conquest.

Under the brand Windsor Communities, GID operates in 15 states, many the same as Berkshire, but the firm is also in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Arizona and California, with a total of 34 properties listed on its website. The firm is acquiring assets itself, this week announcing the purchase of a 222-unit apartment complex in Edgewater, NJ, and acquisition of 284 units in Emeryville, CA. Other Windsor-branded properties in Massachusetts are located in Andover, Canton, Waltham and Westborough.

Windsor Gardens in Norwood is a well-located asset that offers direct commuter rail access to Boston located a half-hour's drive north. The complex is also within a half-hour of Providence, Rhode Island. Windsor Gardens has a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments and townhouses, with rents running from $1,075 to $1,870 per month, according to one online document. The complex also features a new clubhouse, swimming pool and fitness center.