Andrew Brickman is the managing director of Abode Living LLC – Modern Lifestyle Developers. He is the creative and progressive-minded real estate developer behind a number of very successful, state-of-the-art and attractive new townhome communities in the Cleveland area. He is also at the forefront of eco-consciousness. “I think it is the right thing to do in terms of social responsibility, and it is what the educated consumer expects,” he says. Mr. Brickman’s concern for the environment led him to believe that, “people can live in smaller, more intelligently planned spaces.” He is not interested in building traditional development homes – he wants to offer something more interesting, fresher and smarter.
Abode is preparing to break ground on a new $10 million eco-modern townhome community, Clifton Pointe, in Lakewood’s West End. Mr. Brickman assembled three parcels off Sloane Avenue on a bluff overlooking the Rocky River and Lake Erie – just north of the Detroit Avenue Bridge. The location is walking distance to both Rocky River and Lakewood shopping and dining. “The city’s design review board and Dru Siley, the director of planning in Lakewood, were great to work with,” says Scott Dimit, the lead architect for Clifton Pointe and principal at Lakewood-based Dimit Architects. Clifton Pointe will have 17 attached eco-friendly townhomes.
Pre-construction prices range from $329,000-$699,000. Five are already spoken for. It will be Lakewood’s only development offering a 10-year 100% tax abatement. There will be three and four story units, each with a private rooftop deck and an attached two-car garage. They will range in size between 1,600 to 3,000 square feet. The homes will have three-and-a-half bathrooms and two to four bedrooms. Buyers can customize the interior to create a personalized living space for any lifestyle. To help ensure a high concept design, Abode will provide a free design consultation with one of its associated designers.
Clifton Pointe will certainly live up to the term eco-friendly. Construction of the project will utilize an on-site comprehensive recycling program to collect materials that can be reused in order to reduce landfill waste. Products used to build the homes, such as insulation, concrete and siding will be made from recycled materials, and existing trees on the site will be reused for construction. Homes will feature energy-saving Control 4 SmartHome Technology that allows a person to control lighting, home theater, music, temperature, blinds and security while reducing overall utility costs and energy consumption. There will be a sustainable, low-maintenance community garden and a green space area with a gazebo.
The development will have a unique communal approach to transportation, offering a shared electric or hybrid car and community bikes. Since there will be water access from the development, communal kayaks will be available as well. Each of the Abode developments has a distinctive and very well thought out contemporary design, thanks to Dimit Architects. Clifton Pointe is their fourth collaboration, the first of which was The Brownstones at Derbyshire in Cleveland Heights. Next came 27 Coltman in Little Italy, which debuted in the midst of the huge housing market crash in 2008. Despite three price increases 27 Coltman recently sold out. The prices ranged between $299,000 and $600,000 - vastly exceeding the expectations of Mr. Brickman and his Abode partners: Nate Barrett, Director of Construction, and Justin Campbell, Director of Brand Development and Marketing.
Simultaneously, Eleven River, a higher end development in Rocky River, pre-sold out its first phase at prices ranging from $750,000 to well over a million dollars. Set along the banks of the Rocky River, the second phase of the striking townhome community only has five units left available. Mr. Brickman’s success is a testament to his forward-thinking philosophy that embraces aesthetics, function and the greater good.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 12:53PM