Burton Carol Management takes over The Luxe | Real Estate

The Luxe, an 82-unit premier single-family home rental community in Pepper Pike, is under new management.

Burton Carol Management LLC of Warrensville Hts. officially took over as property manager Oct. 25, following a property acquisition by an affiliated investor group CBT Pepper Pike LLC Oct. 20. According to the Cuyahoga County Auditor’s Office website, the group acquired the townhome-style community from its original developer, Cedar Brainard Townhouses Owner LLC. Deeds do not disclose a purchase price, but Burton Carol CEO Robert G. Risman signed a mortgage for the properties Oct. 25.

Joy Anzalone, chief operating officer at Burton Carol, told the Cleveland Jewish News that the company was attracted to The Luxe because of its “unique and unparalleled” rental homes. Burton Carol manages 7,000 units in Florida, Michigan and Ohio, with buildings in Akron, Brunswick, Lakewood, Mayfield Heights, Mentor-on-the-Lake, North Olmsted, Parma, Stow, Streetsboro, Strongsville and Westlake.

The company typically manages apartment buildings, so The Luxe being a townhome-style, single-family rental community is a new venture, Anzalone said.

“There is nothing that compares to The Luxe in Northeast Ohio, let alone the region,” said Anzalone, who lives in Bratenahl, and attends The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood and Celebrating Jewish Life. She was a panelist at the 2014 Cleveland Jewish News Women in Leadership event. “We’ve made our reputation in the apartment business but these are rental homes. The people or families that are renting these could own a home, but wanted something special in a community that is professionally managed.”

The Pepper Pike community as a whole also drew Burton Carol in, Anzalone added.

“In the real estate business we always say ‘location, location, location,’ and it doesn’t get any better than Pepper Pike and the Orange School District,” she said. “We’ve been here for less than a month and have been asking residents what they love and what can be improved upon at The Luxe, and no one has said a bad word. It has an amazing group of residents. They’re all very well taken care of and that’s why they’re there.”

Anzalone has been with Burton Carol for 41 years, she said. In those 41 years, they’ve had communities in Shaker Heights and University Heights, too. While they no longer manage those properties, but do have a property in Mayfield Hts., the company wanted additional opportunities on Cleveland’s east side, which led them to Pepper Pike.

“Growing up on the east side of Cleveland myself, we know it so well and understand that the desirability is second to none,” she said. “Having something of this quality anywhere that you can rent, let alone in Pepper Pike, is almost unheard of. Its location is a second away from the freeway, but it’s also tucked away from the congestion. When you pull into the gates of this property, you’d think the residents are in a world all to their own.”

Amenities at The Luxe include gated access, pet-friendly living, fitness facilities, an outdoor entertainment area and smart home technology. The one-to-two-story living spaces offer two to three bedrooms, 2½ to 3½ bathrooms, walk-in closets and two-car garages. All units include storage-centric basements, some being fully finished. Each home also functions as a smart house, which monitors cameras, thermostats and fire and burglar alarms, and even lets residents remotely lock and unlock their doors.

“We have tremendous respect for the developer and former manager,” Anzalone said. “They did a wonderful job. Our goal is to take anything we touch to the next level. So, in our first three weeks of getting our arms around everything, we’re making sure that people who choose to live here are incredibly well taken care of. We want to make this community everything they want it to be.”

Aware that those who live at The Luxe make a conscious choice to live there because they want hassle-free rental living with the benefits of a single-family home, Anzalone said Burton Carol is here for the long haul. ApartmentFinder lists four units available, ranging in monthly rent from $4,200 to $6,900, with square footage ranging from 1,912 square feet to 2,500 square feet.

“Sometimes when we take over a property, it may need some work,” she said. “The Luxe is not that. This was an amazing property and our goal is to manage it until the end of time. Every decision we make and everything we do is with the future in mind. It’s not just managing for the moment, it’s forever. People who rent here and are willing to pay that price want to make sure the maintenance is quality and want the community immaculate. That is what we’re aspiring to always do here.”

Saying that Burton Carol is “honored to be in Pepper Pike,” Anzalone expressed gratitude to both the city of Pepper Pike and its officials who have “done an amazing job in the community.” She hopes Burton Carol carries on that success, she added.

“We’re honored to maintain the reputation of Pepper Pike in the most unique, premier rental home community,” Anzalone said. “We don’t take it lightly that there are no other rental home communities in the city. Renting is a conscious decision people make at different stages of their life for many reasons. While there are many options throughout Cleveland, none of them are like The Luxe. We don’t take that lightly, either. We want it to be special. So, when people choose to live here, we’re so glad they did.”