Several apartment buildings near Shaker Square had deteriorated under out-of-town ownership. Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration and community groups said that the best way to revitalize them was to have a local company in charge.
They have gotten their wish.
The 15 apartment buildings, formerly known as the Steiner properties, are now controlled by Elevate Shaker Square LLC, which includes South Euclid-based Milton Property Management (Milton PM) and other investors. Lender Fannie Mae started foreclosing on the $22.6 million mortgage in 2024. The 14 buildings in Cleveland and one in Shaker Heights had been owned by Hatz One LLC and Hatz Two LLC, Brooklyn, New York-based real estate investment companies that had been controlled by the late Mendel Steiner.
Time will tell, but regardless of what happens next, the community should know that the city will continue to monitor the situation and remains committed to ensuring that the necessary improvements are made to these properties.”
Tyler Sinclair, a city spokesperson, on Cleveland’s commitment to making sure some deteriorating Shaker Square area apartment buildings are rehabbed.
Fannie Mae auctioned the mortgage note in April. It was then that Elevate Shaker Square acquired it for $5.5 million, but the deal wasn’t made public until this month. In order to take title to the properties, the LLC must complete legal steps including completing the foreclosure process Fannie Mae started. The recent foreclosure-related filing in U.S. District Court based in Cleveland revealed Elevate Shaker Square’s identity.
Aaron Steinfeld, Milton PM’s founder, wrote in an email to Signal Cleveland that he wasn’t ready to speak publicly about the apartment buildings Elevate Shaker Square is acquiring.
“[W]e are still getting our arms around the portfolio as well as working closely with the City of Cleveland to make sure everything is in place to move forward smoothly,” he wrote.
Milton PM manages more than 80 properties in Cleveland and East Side suburbs including Cleveland Heights, Euclid and Garfield Heights, according to the company’s website.
Cleveland and community group say they will work with local company to make sure Shaker Square area apartments are rehabbed
The city is working with Elevate Shaker Square to ensure that improvements are made, said Tyler Sinclair, a city spokesperson. The city had unsuccessfully tried to prevent Fannie Mae from auctioning the apartment buildings for fear that they would be acquired by another out-of-town owner that would allow them to continue to deteriorate. However, the federal court said the city could take action to make sure that any new owner would be required to bring the properties up to code.
The Bibb administration is “remaining cautiously optimistic,” especially until the company takes ownership of the buildings, he said.
“Time will tell, but regardless of what happens next, the community should know that the city will continue to monitor the situation and remains committed to ensuring that the necessary improvements are made to these properties — whether that’s through continued, aggressive code enforcement and/or other legal avenues,” he wrote in an email to Signal Cleveland.
Jay Westbrook, who heads code enforcement for the Morelands Group, an organization focused on preserving and advocating for the Shaker Square apartment corridor, said Steinfeld and others from Elevate Shaker Square had been in contact with the organization since before the auction. They came to one of the group’s public meetings and told residents that the company intended to bid on the mortgage note.
Westbrook said he likes that Steinfeld and the others have a commitment to keeping rents affordable. His lingering hesitation is that Milton PM’s experience has primarily been with one- and two-family rentals and not multifamily housing.
“They have been straightforward about their principal experiences with residential housing,” Westbrook said. “It is fair to say that this new portfolio is a significant stretch for them. We’ve urged them to be fully prepared for the task that lies ahead.”
The 15 apartment buildings contain 308 units, only about 30 of which are now occupied, Westbrook said. The apartment corridor, centered on North Moreland and South Moreland boulevards, includes 80-plus structures with about 2,000 units. The corridor also includes Van Aken and Shaker boulevards.
Many of the apartments were constructed in the 1920s and 1930s and have details that include crown molding, fireplaces, stained glass windows and spacious rooms. Tenants in many of the units had lived in them for years. As maintenance started to decline, especially in the last five years or so, many moved, Westbrook said. This accelerated after the buildings went into foreclosure. The Morelands Group was among the first to lobby for local, responsible ownership for the deteriorating buildings. They were able to get the Bibb administration to join them in pushing for this.
The Morelands Group intends to keep lobbying until the units are returned to viability, Westbrook said. They have told Elevate Shaker Square that they want to work with the company as part of a community partnership to achieve this goal.
“They have assured us of open and above board communication and collaboration,” Westbrook said. “And to date, they have lived up to that.”
