Apartment complex owner responds to residents' safety concerns following fatal fire in Richmond Heights

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, OH (WOIO) - Cleveland 19 is digging deeper into the company that owns Loganberry Ridge Apartments in Richmond Heights.

After a man died from an apartment fire this month, residents who live in other buildings within the same complex are voicing their concerns about safety.

In addition to Loganberry Ridge Apartments, Cleveland 19 found ROCO Real Estate has three other properties in Northeast Ohio: apartment complexes in Euclid, Elyria and Shaker Heights.

ROCO Real Estate was founded in 2012 by four entrepreneurs. The company owns properties in 13 states with at least 110 residential communities. More than 60,000 people reside in their properties.

On its website, the company says "We treat our residents the way we would want to be treated, if our positions were reversed."

Cleveland 19 checked out some of ROCO’s reviews online. The company is rated 1.8 out of 5 stars on Google, out of 140 reviews.

One resident wrote, “Worst experience ever, they do not respond to your concerns. It seems as though they only care about money and not their residents.”

On Glass Door, the company rates 3 out of 5 stars.

In one review, an employee says they have progressive benefits including maternal and paternal leave and an "empowered and competitive nature."

We did some digging and found two recent lawsuits against ROCO in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

In April 2017, Precision Security Agency said they weren’t fully paid by ROCO for more than a year. They said ROCO was in breach of contract for more than $25,000. That lawsuit was later settled.

In April of this year, Jani-King, of Cleveland, stopped its cleaning services at Aristocrat Apartments in Shaker Heights, saying ROCO Real Estate failed to pay them. They said ROCO owed them $18,590.50. Jani-King wanted another $52,164 for breach of contract.

Loganberry Ridge residents have complained to us that there’s not enough maintenance staff at the complex.

Cleveland 19 found ROCO is currently hiring a Maintenance Supervisor for Loganberry complex. The job was posted 16 days ago on Glass Door.

The company sent us this statement on Friday:

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