A South Florida Berkadia team closed an $80 million loan for the purchase and renovation of a sprawling Palm Beach Gardens apartment community.

The Fountains is a 33-building development on 21 acres at 4120 Union Square Blvd. south of PGA Boulevard between Interstate 95 and Military Trail.

Advenir Inc., an Aventura-based real estate investment company, bought the property in February for $97.2 million from Landmark at Garden Square LLC, an affiliate of North Palm Beach-based real estate buyer, seller and manager Electra America.

Berkadia secured $80 million on behalf of Advenir for the purchase and upgrades to the property.

Berkadia South Florida senior managing director Charles Foschini in Miami, senior managing director Mitch Sinberg in Boca Raton, managing director Chris Apone in Miami, associate director Matt Robbins in Boca Raton and senior analyst Lourdes Carranza-Alvarez in Miami closed the deal Feb. 5.

The loan was obtained from Freddie Mac.

Under the terms of the loan, Advenir must spend at least $10,000 per unit on renovations with at least half of that on unit interiors, Foschini said.

“There will be significant improvement package to the asset commencing as soon as possible,” he said.

That would include improvements to the units and amenity areas, he added.

The loan Advenir secured is value-add, which is issued to strong borrowers, Foschini said.

“The value-add program is reserved for the strongest operators who take a unique approach to the asset in terms of their improvements and their ability to transition rents historically to a higher level once the improvements have been made,” he said.

The loan is a three-year, floating-rate loan with a loan-to-value ratio of 82 percent.

At 542 units, The Fountains purchase price breaks down to $179,428 per unit, and the loan breaks down to $147,601 per unit.

Like other deals, securing this loan came with challenges.

For one, the marketing was complicated by Hurricane Irma, which churned up Florida in early September.

“Hurricane Irma went through the property during the marketing period of the sale of the asset, and so folks that would normally be pursuing an asset of that size of scale kind of took a pause to evaluate,” Foschini said.

Berkadia didn't represent Advenir in the purchase of the property, only in the financing.

It was Advenir's experience and knowledge of the South Florida market — as well as the  asset — that helped it secure the property.

“Advenir, the buyer that eventually closed, is a very strong borrower and one that is based in South Florida and understood all the nuances of the asset,” Foschini said. “It's an asset that they had had their eye on for a long time.”

Another challenge to closing the loan stemmed from the large size of the property.

The complex was built it in the 1970s, according to the county property records. But it's large, resulting in the high purchase price and, in turn, requiring a large loan.

“The average apartment transaction is somewhere in the $20 million to $30 million range. This vintage unit, this was a very large … property. So even though it was not brand new and institutional in its asset class, it was a very, very large transaction, and that made it unique both in terms of the size and scale of the asset and then the sheer number of units and amount of equity that was used to close,” Foschini said.

“Advenir has very strong track record in raising money in large transactions and was able to demonstrate to the seller that they could put the deal under contract and close under very timely fashion,” he added.

The Fountains has one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with washers and dryers, ceramic tile floors, walk-in closets, storage and screened patios and balconies.

The amenities include three pools, a picnic area with barbecue grills, a clubhouse, a gym that's open 24 hours and seven days a week, basketball courts, a fitness trail, a dog park, a car wash area and Wi-Fi in the common areas.

Residents also have quick access to I-95 as the community is less than half a mile from the highway ramps.