Edgewood Road Inspires Orlean Company’s Newest Housing Development When Beachwood-based developers David Orlean, 65, and Ken Lurie, 61, were growing up across from each other on Edgewood Road in the 1960s, the bricklined street was loaded with kids who played sports all day long. “Kids ruled the world there,” states Orlean, president and owner of The Orlean Company, a developer and manager of commercial and residential properties located on Commerce Park, with a staff of 185. His fond memories of the street, along with those etched in the mind of partner and principal Lurie, inspired the name for their latest $20 million, multi-family housing development, Edgewood Trace in Pepper Pike. They say it’s a real passion project that also draws inspiration from the uncanny number of Edgewood Road residents who later became successful local developers, along with others who now hold high profiles. The naming pays homage to these luminaries. The Edgewood Road from their memories was uniquely positioned with a large empty lot at the southern end that meets Fairmount Boulevard, offering prime space for baseball and football games. At the northern end of the street that meets Beachwood Boulevard, which was undeveloped at the time, featured land that invited the growth of wild strawberries and plenty of picking opportunities. The partners also have vivid recollections of tremendous Halloween experiences, with nearly every neighbor passing out candy and the sidewalks overflowing with costumed trick or treaters. The Edgewood Trace development, which is well underway on Cedar Road, across from Landerbrook Drive, will be composed of 42 cluster homes in the $500,000 range, with master suites on the first floor and full, finished basements featuring nine-foot ceilings. The 21 buildings will sit on a 10acre site, each with 2,300 sq. ft. or more of living space, within a gated community and governed by a homeowner’s association. “These homes are designed for those who want to downsize with limited maintenance required on their property,” says Cameron Orlean, 28, a company vice president and son of David. “They’re also ideally suited for snowbirds or young professionals,” he adds. A brokers’ kick-off event, held at Beechmont Country Club in October, was attended by 75 on a night that overlapped with a World Series game, demonstrating definite interest in the three-year project. First move-in ability will begin in spring 2017. The 61-year-old Orlean Company was established by David’s late father Art, who began by constructing single family homes in neighborhoods around Cleveland, including Elyria and Parma; he then progressed to building and managing market-rate apartments. Currently in the company’s portfolio is The Normandy, an independent living complex in Rocky River at which a major $25 million expansion is underway, involving a 40-unit assisted-living development and a 40-unit memory-care extension, both complementing an existing nursing home on the property. The 150-unit Normandy Apartments are also being renovated, with amenities being added to include a new gym, aerobics room, new salon, arts and crafts studio, among other enhancements. The company also recently became involved with the development of Cambria Hotels, with the first one now open in Avon and another under construction in Westfield, Indiana, near Indianapolis. Closer to home, they have partnered on a $35 million, two-year project to rehabilitate the Pictured from left: David Orlean, Cameron Orlean and Ken Lurie with an Edgewood brick from a street reunion and a photo of David’s childhood home on the street. By June Scharf 144-suite Fenway Manor, a senior-citizen apartment on the western edge of University Circle, built in 1923. The range of these developments is striking, taking the company far from its more monolithic origins. But this is not an accident. “We are an opportunistic, highly diversified company,” Lurie explains. While the core business centers on affordable housing financed with low-interest loans granted through federal projects, some of the newer projects also draw on those resources. “Other developers with narrower interests have approached us and after we have those conversations, they come to realize that maybe they should be trying other types of projects, too,” says Lurie. Some notable developments within the housing category that the Orlean Company has completed include Bluestone on Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights on the former site of the Jewish Community Center, River Creek off Richmond Road in Lyndhurst, and Kennilworth Mews on Euclid Heights Boulevard in Cleveland Heights. The question remains: why didn’t the company name the new development Edgewood Road? Because Pepper Pike wouldn’t allow it since a street by that name already exists in the community and responses by police and fire rescue could be misdirected. So Edgewood Trace it is, and there certainly is a trace of history to go along with it. Distinguished Edgewood Road Residents Real Estate Developers • Kerry Chelm, Chelm Properties, Inc. • Don King, The King Group • Ken Lurie, The Orlean Company • David Orlean, The Orlean Company • Bob Stark, Robert L. Stark Enterprises • Darrell Young, Darrell A. Young Enterprises LLC Other Residents • Dave Lombardy, developer of Dave’s Cosmic Subs franchise • Keith Polster, Mason Structural Steel • Dr. Fred Rothstein, former president, University Hospitals • Debra Winger, actress 36 Beachwood Buzz n December 2016