ROSS Management Services, a leader in multifamily property management in the Mid-Atlantic region, today announced that it won eight awards from the Property Management Association (PMA). The association, which represents property management professionals in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, distributed its Marketing and Advertising Excellence (MAE) Awards and Leasing Professional Awards during its annual ceremony in December.

The following ROSS Management Services team members garnered Leasing Professional Awards, which recognize leasing excellence:

• Catherine Quintanilla of Seven Springs Apartments in College Park, Md., came in third in the Prince George’s County, Md., division.
• Debra White of the Glen Oaks apartment community in Greenbelt, Md., received a Leasing Professional Award – Rising Star certificate, which honors leasing professionals who scored 90 percent or higher on their shopping reports.

"For an apartment management company, nothing is more important than providing unbeatable service to current residents and prospective renters," said Dawn Miller, vice president of marketing for ROSS Management Services. "That begins and ends with the amazing people we hire, and it’s extremely gratifying to see Catherine and Debra honored for their commitment to our residents and prospects, especially by an organization as highly regarded as PMA."

ROSS Management Services also received the following six MAE awards:

• ROSS' annual employee recognition event materials, which incorporated the “ROSS Superheroes – Bring on the Good” theme, won first place in the Internal Public Relations category.
• A new blade sign at Coliseum Lofts, which increased awareness of the community on a busy street, won first place in the Property Signage by an Agency category.
• The “Coming Soon” sign at Coliseum Lofts in Richmond, Va., which generated excitement for upcoming amenities, received honorable mention in the Property Signage/In-House category.
• The new signage package at Flats at Ginter Park in Richmond, Va., received honorable mention in the Property Signage by an Agency category.
• Coliseum Lofts’ promotional giveaway, which consisted of branded t-shirts and water bags, received honorable mention in the Promotional Item by an Agency category.
• The Live Laurel regional marketing campaign, which promoted ROSS Management’s communities in Laurel, Md., was recognized with an honorable mention in the Portfolio Marketing Campaign/In-House category.    

"Our marketing team has done an incredible job of promoting our communities and making sure we're hitting the right prospects with the right messaging, which has played a big role in our rent growth, high occupancies and increased net operating income," Miller said. "We're thrilled to see their hard work and tremendous creativity rewarded through these MAE awards. I could not be more excited about the team I have the honor of working with every day at ROSS. We're more dedicated than ever to delivering outstanding experiences for both our current residents and our prospects."

Alla Shtipelman, regional sales and marketing supervisor for ROSS Management Services, has been sworn in as the new president of the Washington, D.C.-based Property Management Association (PMA). Her term will last one year. 

As the largest association of its kind in the United States, PMA consists of approximately 1,800 property management professionals in the D.C. area; together, they are responsible for 750,000 residential units and more than 120 million square feet of commercial, retail and industrial space.

"Stated simply, PMA members could not have selected a more perfect fit for their new president than Alla. She brings bottomless energy and passion as well as tremendous leadership and people skills to her duties at ROSS, and those qualities will be on full display during her tenure as president of PMA," said Dave Miskovich, CEO of ROSS Cos., the parent company of ROSS Management Services. "There is no one better suited than her to help PMA fulfill its mission of facilitating the exchange of knowledge and practical education between members of the multifamily industry. Her experience and expertise will provide an outstanding boost to the professional development of PMA’s members."

At ROSS Management Services, Shtipelman works with apartment communities that are experiencing occupancy or other types of leasing challenges. At these properties, she manages sales and marketing efforts, conducts training of onsite staffs, provides hands-on leasing assistance and implements resident-retention programs. In addition, she serves as corporate mentor for new employees. Shtipelman currently oversees 13 apartment communities, representing approximately 4,900 apartment homes.

Shtipelman also is very active in community service efforts in the metro Washington, D.C., area. A member of the Greater Reston (Va.) Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Silver Spring (Md.) Chamber of Commerce, she also currently serves as secretary on the FBI Washington Field Office Citizens Academy Alumni Association’s board of directors. 

Shtipelman has held various positions at PMA and was elected to the organization’s board of directors in 2014. She serves on PMA’s Holiday Ball and Membership committees, was a co-chair for the August Social Committee, and has been an active member of the Community Service Committee and the PMA Toastmasters Club.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., April 6, 2016 – ROSS Management Services, a leader in multifamily property management in the Mid-Atlantic region, and Cedar Grove Capital today announced the acquisition of Chesterfield Apartments in the emerging West Winston-Salem submarket.

ROSS will serve as the management partner for Chesterfield Apartments, which feature 294 apartment homes with spacious floor plans spread among nine brick-construction buildings. Although the community was renovated in 2010, the companies will team up to institute additional upgrades to select apartment homes to bring the community on par with the escalating demand for quality housing in Winston-Salem.

“There is no doubt that this is one of the most convenient areas of Winston-Salem to live in with nearly 40,000 jobs within a three-mile radius and plenty of entertainment destinations nearby,” said Aaron Gorin, managing partner at Cedar Grove Capital, based in New York City. “Winston-Salem has morphed into a thriving and resilient economy with strong economic drivers and a diverse employer base over the past two decades. We believe Chesterfield Apartments represents a tremendous opportunity for us to offer quality housing to meet the sustainable demand coming from an ever-growing professional population.”

Nestled among several professional office parks that are home to medical, legal and accounting firms, which provide a steady pocket of employment strength, Chesterfield Apartments is perfectly situated to provide quality housing to working professionals. Among the vast employers in Winston-Salem are the Forsyth Medical Center, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, BE Aerospace, BB&T Bank and Blue Rhino, home to numerous local and national retailers. The city had been widely known as a manufacturing hub until the late 1990s, but since has transformed into a tech-savvy market where biomedical research, high-performance computing, advanced software development, and technology-based entrepreneurship all help drive its economic growth.

To match that tech-friendly environment, Chesterfield Apartments will receive a boost in digital presence from ROSS, which will manage its online reputation while giving the community an advertising boost. ROSS also will improve on-site operational efficiencies through the use of technology-enabled services, including online and mobile rent payment, service requests and account management.

“The introduction of our suite of technologically advanced services will be a natural fit for the city, which is becoming one of the mid-Atlantic region’s meccas for technological growth,” said Dave Miskovich, chief operating officer for ROSS Companies, the parent company of ROSS Management Services. “Even public schools in the area have received acclaim for how they’re incorporating technology into the classroom. Residents in a tech-friendly city like Winston-Salem will expect the same from their apartment communities, and we’re going to make that a reality at Chesterfield Apartments.”

In addition to numerous employment opportunities, residents of Chesterfield Apartments will have easy access to a host of shopping and dining destinations, including Hanes Mall, as well as entertainment venues. Also known as North Carolina’s City of the Arts, Winston-Salem is home to the nation’s first Art Council, the highly acclaimed North Carolina School of Arts and the National Black Theatre Festival, in addition to several galleries and museums in the downtown sector.

The community consists of 2- and 3-bedroom apartment homes, ranging from 882 to 1,097 square feet, and a variety of amenities, including a swimming pool and a playground. Apartment features include spacious closets, air conditioning, dishwashers, balconies and patios and washer and dryer connections with select floor plans.

About ROSS Companies
ROSS Companies, founded in 1983 in Bethesda, Md., is a recognized leader in multi-family acquisitions and investment, development, property management and renovation. With a managed portfolio of more than 10,000 apartment homes in over 30 communities, the privately-held company is one of the most active multifamily real estate firms in the Mid-Atlantic region. ROSS Companies is comprised of three affiliates – ROSS Development & Investment, ROSS Management Services and ROSS Renovation & Construction. In 2016, ROSS Development & Investment is celebrating its 33rd anniversary and ROSS Management Services is celebrating 27 years in business. In 2015, 19 ROSS-managed apartment communities were awarded the Apartment Ratings’ 2015 Top Rated Award, reflecting ROSS Companies’ unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. These annual awards recognize communities with outstanding resident satisfaction ratings as measured on ApartmentRatings.com. For more information about ROSS Companies, visit TheRossCompanies.com.

About Cedar Grove Capital
Cedar Grove Partners is a value add operator focused on acquiring, renovating, and enhancing operations of quality class B and C multi-family assets primarily focusing on secondary and tertiary cities in the US. Cedar Grove focuses on achieving superior risk-adjusted returns by investing in asymmetric risk-reward opportunities informed by a disciplined acquisition methodology and bottoms up operating philosophy.