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Living in Crocker Park puts it all together

The view from a second-floor apartment at Crocker Park shows there’s no shortage of retail of which residents can take advantage.

The view from a second-floor apartment at Crocker Park shows there’s no shortage of retail of which residents can take advantage.

Story by Carlo Wolff
Photography by Michael C. Butz

 A shopper walks in front of Crocker Park Living’s clock tower, which fronts one of the apartment buildings.

A shopper walks in front of Crocker Park Living’s clock tower, which fronts one of the apartment buildings.

You know how you sometimes forget something you really want for dinner, but going to the nearest supermarket is anything but convenient? That’s not a problem for residents of Crocker Park Living, 536 apartments at the heart of Crocker Park, the Westlake retail and office mecca developed by Stark Enterprises.

If you live in one of these units, grabbing that critical culinary ingredient is as easy as walking downstairs. These apartments – built in three phases between 2005 and 2015 – are one floor above Trader Joe’s, one of three grocery stores in the development. They’re also mere steps from all kinds of retail spanning clothing, restaurants and a movie theater, as well as Market Square, a space available for corporate events and civic gatherings.

There’s soon to be more.

Starting in spring 2018, Crocker Park Living dwellers will be able to join the LINC Social Club, a 10,000-square-foot “private amenity space for the residents,” according to Brian Weisberg, vice president of residential operations for Stark Enterprises. LINC, which stands for Living In Crocker Park, will be a “fully programmed social experience” open only to people who live on site. LINC membership costs will be covered in the rent.

Living in Crocker Park means you never have to leave.

Bracketed by American Greetings and the Promenade, this lifestyle center and mixed-use development is a place to hang your hat, work, eat, shop, participate in kids’ days and farmer’s markets, be entertained – and socialize. It’s a virtual, self-contained community designed to offer a city feel in a suburban setting.

Crocker Park is the “only community of its kind in our marketplace, which offers upscale urban lifestyle living in the suburbs,” says Weisberg. “It becomes a workable lifestyle environment where you can work, live, shop and play, all in one place.”

The “live” part is the apartments, which occupy two to four floors above the retail, says Weisberg, a Shaker Heights resident who grew up in Beachwood and is a former congregant of Park Synagogue. Separate parking, camera surveillance, controlled-access key fob-activated entry to the residences, and special “engineering components” insulate residents from retail and office workers.

One-bedroom units of 650 square feet to 1,220 square feet rent for $1,100 to $1,850. Two-bedroom units of 1,015 square feet to 1,500 square feet rent from $1,850 to $2,500.

“We offer a wide variety of suite options to meet all lifestyle needs from short-term leases to corporate housing to long-term lifestyle needs,” Weisberg says.

The renter demographic spans young professionals and empty nesters, says Weisberg, noting Crocker Park offers preferred discounts to American Greetings workers and retail employees who rent from Crocker Park Living. And if convenience is one appeal, so is the level of amenities.

Some young professionals “are looking for or are accustomed to heavy amenities inside of apartments,” says Weisberg, noting “our buildout is different from any other local development.”

Crocker Park Living units are designed along the lines of “condominium lifestyle living as opposed to the typical apartment community, where our renters would have a standard cabinet or standard appliance package,” he says. “We provide custom-built cabinetry with imported granite countertops and Berber carpeting, and hardwood flooring; our lighting packages are not typical standard apartment grade. Nothing we do is the average apartment grade.”

The Crocker Park look

The apartments themselves, at least ones in Phase III, a 318-unit structure that opened two years ago, are ultra-contemporary, sleek and cool-feeling. The palette is muted – dove, off-white, silver, blond, charcoal-brown, beige – but the ambience doesn’t feel overly earth-toned. It’s more refreshing than that, particularly in light of the many floor-to-ceiling windows.

Complementing the palette of the paint and the outfitting are stainless-steel, state-of-the-art appliances, that coveted granite counter top, and contemporary furnishings, often from Crocker Park retailers like Arhaus.

Chrissie Aurich, the property manager, lived there for some time and enjoyed the self-contained nature of a Crocker Park Living apartment. She notes that Phase I, 158 units that opened in 2005, is more traditional, featuring cherry wood cabinets; 58-unit Phase II, which opened in 2009, blends that feel with its successor’s more contemporary look, but also features outdoor terraces. The idea is to offer different finishes and slightly different configurations, she says.

A package deal

It’s the totality that makes Crocker Park a place to call home, Aurich suggests.

“I would say it’s the convenience; you have all the retailers and all the restaurants right at your doorstep. The fitness centers, the movie theater – it’s just a really good balance. … You don’t ever have to leave the community, which is great for many different people.”

Weisberg, meanwhile, stresses the multi-faceted uniqueness of the place.

“There really isn’t competition, because Crocker Park is an environment that is self-contained, unlike anything else in the marketplace,” he says. “The reality is you can move into the city and live around restaurants and bars, but there’s a limited amount of shopping available. … Fifteen percent of the first-floor spaces downtown are retail. We have more retail, office and entertainment per square foot than any other environment in our marketplace at your fingertips that appeal to all lifestyles.” js


Chanukah at Crocker Park

Hosted by Chabad of the West Side, the Grand Chanukah Party will begin at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at Crocker Park’s Market Square, 239 Market St., Westlake. At 6:30 p.m., there will be a giant menorah lighting. Entertainment, music, latkes, doughnuts and family-friendly activities are also planned. For more information, visit bit.ly/2zUhJ3n.

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