Kaufmann's Review

This building is an eyesore and the developer has been lying about the status of the project for years one excuse after another. Now they re trying to lease apartments in the half-finished building. They claim that it s a luxury apartment building with a rooftop pool, street level retail, integrated parking, a zen room, and a movie theater. But none of those things exist. It s all a scam. Stay away!

It's a great apartment. I live comfortably here. The ladies in the concierge department are very friendly. They can help you solve all your problems.

this was the first time I seen this place and when I tell you its a site to see the lobby is amazing with the beautiful luxury seating arrangement, I assist on a photo shoot that happened there and as soon as I walked in I said I wanna live here! so modern, chic, luxe, and just a little beyond your belief. I will be living here soon.

Please note - several of the 5 star 'reviews' were written by Core Realty staff. This is not a 5 star apartment building in any fashion. If you are thinking of leasing here....continue your search.

I absolutely love living here!! Yes, the building is still under construction but I knew that moving in. My apartment is absolutely stunning! My friends are all jealous. Once completed I am sure this will be the best place to live downtown. Happy I locked in two years early!

I had an amazing experience my company Willie gees we had a photo shoot there for an event we had coming up and are go to person was Angel, she was so amazing making sure we had everything we needed with space. we viewed some of the leasing condos there so spacious, modern, clean, and greatly put together. who would have known that this old place could be turned into this peice of treasure that it is today.

Updating my review since the elevators are down AGAIN -- see picture-- (and will be all weekend) due to: (1) non-payment to elevator vendor (?); malicious disdain by management (?)... who knows?! Because MANAGEMENT. WILL. NOT. COMMUNICATE. WITH. RESIDENTS.

We currently live here - and are saddened at the lost opportunity. We signed our lease knowing that the building was still under construction (so, no amenities) -- but we were led to believe that the building was STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. It is not. Within 2 months of moving in it became clear that no further construction was occurring and that the owner was in financial difficulty. We have lived here a year now, paying luxury rental rates for absolutely NONE of the promised amenities. No onsite parking, no rooftop pool/restaurant/bar/tennis courts, no media rooms, no 24-hr security, etc. And management will NOT communicate with the residents.

DO NOT MOVE INTO THIS BUILDING UNLESS YOU LOVE BEING LIED TO ON A DAILY BASIS.

Yes, the building is sill under renovation, but the parts completed are wonderful and my son loves living there. His apartment is beautiful - I'm jealous! The staff is amazing and super-helpful. The location can't be beat for working downtown. A supplied iPad runs most of the apartment. Every time I visit, there are more new residents moving in. Can't wait to see the finished building! Bet - it will be hard to get an apartment then....

Kaufmann s Grand on Fifth claims to be a Luxury Apartment but offers NONE of the amenities it has advertised for the past two years As a former resident, due to unlivable and unsanitary conditions, we were left with no choice but to vacate Kaufmann s Grand on Fifth.

I had reasonable expectations about living in an environment that was still under construction and have lived through major renovations at other homes in the past. The ongoing construction is not the reason for our departure but the unsanitary pest conditions, general overall poor conditions of the facility, and safety concerns forced us to make this decision. Food and drink containers were often left lying around in the stairwells, hallways, and apartments under construction, providing a food source for the rodents. Our cat experienced a series of unexplained seizures while we lived there, which previously had never happened following treatment for rodents.

An online service portal does not exist for logging, tracking, and reporting maintenance requests so this lacks maintenance tracking which also prevents analysis and identification of trending issues. No improvement feedback mechanism exists, and our personal time was consumed with reporting issues and coordinating action and repairs.

One day the Corporate Offices decided to unlock the front doors. The leasing office and concierge desk are not staffed, trained, or equipped to provide security. Immediately inside the doors there is access to stairwell D enabling someone from the street to enter the building and wander the stairwells and hallways without ever entering the lobby or being seen. With the constant state of construction and maintenance occurring, all stairwell doors are not secured. Once an intruder gains access to one floor, they will be able to access all other floors via the elevator. The circumstances put all of the residents and staff at risk, since there is no physical security buffer for the building, and asked that they recess and reverse the decision to have the door unlocked all day long, since all resident safety would be comprised, response received they will remain unlocked . This was never communicated to the residents and residents continued to use their fob to gain access to the building.

There is one working elevator for all residents and all Air B&B guests on the 12th floor. When we were scheduled to move, we were told the freight elevator was not running so this forced us to use the single working elevator and walking a block and half to an alley where the U Haul truck was parked so it could be loaded. What an inconvenience for us, the current residents, and our movers who ended up taking twice the time it should have to move us out.

My husband and I were extraordinarily patient since we originally signed and provided a deposit in October of 2017. Our move-in date was cancelled and rescheduled over a dozen times. Kaufmanns Grand on Fifth offers is major flooding problems, electrical problems, windows improperly installed, safety issues, and rodents living within the walls and in many of the surrounding areas of the resident living. The facility has been treated for gnats and infestation of other bugs. There is not enough room to go into detail of all the problems we had while living at Kaufmann s Grand on Fifth.

Please make sure you do your due diligence before you consider signing a lease and residing at Kaufmann s Grand on Fifth. This historic project could have been a beautiful masterpiece but instead has been turned into an eyesoar sight. Warning - 2 of the 5 Star reviews noted below are employees of Kaufmanns Grand on Fifth, and do not live there, and another 2 of the 5 Star reviews are from individuals who did a photo shoot in the main lobby one day and do not live there. The Lobby is nice but residents do not live in the lobby of Kaufmanns Grand on Fifth.
Attached are photos of some of the work that was completed at Kaufmanns Grand on Fifth, so you can see for yourself the quality of the product

Residents have been reaching out to management for many, many months (some over a year!) about major issues and false promises without any response or resolution. It s now management s responsibility to reach out to residents, not the other way around!!
Don t believe the advertising by the property. Those amenities simply do not exist.

Do not expect Core to respond to your maintenance requests at the Kaufmann's Grand in Pittsburgh. I have had an open ticket with them for over 90 days. The office manager has been out for 3 months. The replacement manager refuses to help with any open tickets, because they are trying to sell the building. The management in the main office refuses to respond to voicemails. So if you are looking to spend a lot of monthly to be treated like public housing, this is your place. In addition, if you are looking to move to their property Chatham Center, be warned that the replacement manager "covering" at Kaufman and lying to your face manages that property full time.

Update: elevators have been out for 5 days and Core is too busy trying to sell the building to help their tenants. The owner, Michael Samschick has repeatedly said he would come meet with us. Somehow, in the two months of us demanding it, he still can t figure out how to get from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. Before you consider even touring here, explore all the news articles. Research the lawsuits. Examine the liens on the building. Read the reviews.