MIAMI—Berkshires at Walden Lake, a 400-unit multifamily complex in North Miami, FL, has a new owner. Aventura, FL-based Advenir acquired the multifamily asset from Berkshire Property Advisors in a $44.5 million deal.

ARA Boca Raton-based principals Hampton Beebe, Avery Klann, and Dick Donnellan represented Boston-based Berkshire in sale. Advenir acquires and operates multifamily rental communities throughout the United States on behalf of high net worth and institutional investors.

“Berkshires at Walden Lake is a top performing asset within its submarket,” says Beebe. “The property has already renovated 84 units and is achieving healthy premiums over their pre-renovated rents, which is evidence for significant value-add potential.”

Berkshires at Walden was built in 1986 and was 95% occupied. The multifamily property is located four miles west of Interstate 95 and one mile east of the connection to Florida's Turnpike. State Road 826 is four miles to the south. Since 2006, the current owner has spent $4.5 million on capital improvements. New paint, landscaping improvements, office upgrade, pool pavers, and unit interiors were on the list.

Miami-Dade remains the tightest market in Southeast Florida, with a healthy 96.9% occupancy average, well above the 94.9% national average, ARA reports. The North Miami multifamily submarket of Miami recorded 97% occupancy in the fourth quarter 2012, outperforming the overall Miami-Dade market. The submarket's improvement of 1.7% represented the second highest occupancy growth among all submarkets in South Florida.

Berkshires at Walden Lake is encumbered by a Land Use Restriction Agreement (LURA). Per the LURA, the multifamily property is currently subject to income restrictions specifying that 20% of the units must be rented to households with income at or less than 80% of the median income in the Miami-Dade MSA.