7801 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Google Maps

Clarion Partners LLC, a New York investment management company, bought a garden-style Boca Raton apartment community for $120.8 million in a strong multifamily market fueled by population growth and decreased homeownership.

A Clarion affiliate bought the renamed 384-unit Cortland Boca Raton from an affiliate of another real estate investor, PGIM Real Estate based in Madison, New Jersey, on July 12. The price breaks down to $314,674 per unit and $277 per square foot.

A Clarion executive had no comment by deadline on the Cortland buy.

The former Broadstone North Boca Village has at least 18 buildings, clubhouse and swimming pool on 17.4 acres at 7801 N. Federal Highway between Linton Boulevard and Yamato Road.

The complex was constructed in 2012 and 2013. Cortland is branded as a luxury community offering a resort-style one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

The South Florida multifamily market has been powered by strong demand pushing up occupancy and rents. The occupancy rate in the second quarter was 96% and the effective rent reached $1,651, up 2.2% from a year before, according to a Berkadia report.

In Boca Raton, a well-heeled city where high-end mixed-use and apartment projects are in the pipeline, the effective rent is $1,978 per month.

Increased demand for rentals is a switch from pre-recession times when condominiums ruled. Apartment demand in turn fuels demand from investors and investment managers like Clarion.

It also has pushed builders to construct more urban-core towers and suburban mid-rises, although Berkadia research for the region indicates developers recently slowed deliveries. Over 8,500 units were finished since June 2018, down from 12,562 units finished the prior year.

Despite Cortland's high-dollar value, it's not the priciest residential deal this year, topped by the $209 million sale of two apartment complexes south of Doral. Blackstone Group LP, a New York-based private equity and alternative asset management company, bought Doral View and next-door Town Fontainebleau Lakes from the joint venture of The Related Group and Boston-based Rockpoint Group LLC.

Clarion, an independent affiliate of Baltimore-based asset manager Legg Mason, owns other South Florida property. In 2016, it bought the ground lease for The Lincoln office-retail building in Miami Beach for $109.25 million.

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South Florida Multifamily Market Trending Toward Apartments After Years of Condo Focus

Greenberg Traurig Attorneys Close South Florida's Biggest Multifamily Deal of the Year

American Landmark's $91.5 Million Buy Near Boca Raton Speaks to Multifamily Market Strength