Frankford Lofts

I would never have moved into FL had I know what we were getting ourselves into. We were among the first to sign leases with them. After explaining to their agent that we were moving from a new construction that was far behind in developments leaving us to move a year later with the building still not finished, she assured us that our apt would 100% be completed by the time we moved in. I understand new construction is risky but management was extremely sneaky and they knew for a fact they were lying to people about the completion date and they still told us it would be ready (there was a hold up of funds because they didn’t have as many tenants as they needed to finish). We were on our way to the building to move in (now keep in mind this is after the first delay and mngt told us it would be ready at this new current date and we were in our moving truck with all our belongings), and we called them to get our keys to find out our apartment still wasn’t done. We didn’t have walls! We didn’t have a bathroom. It was a mess. About a month or so later, after constant pushing, we finally moved into our place — that was still unfinished but we honestly didn’t care — as long as it was livable.
Moving on to pros and cons as no one moving there here on out will have to experience the delay in construction — just wanted to note our first impression.
Pros — HUGE apartments with lots of character. Nice, new appliances. Affordable rent. Good location with lots of bars/​restaurants around.
Cons — lack of communication and trust of management, security (there were several break ins during the first months of building — the doors are not made well — the burglar ripped the door from the wall and walked out with valuables casually), windows don’t have screens so you if you have pets or don’t want bugs flying in, you really cant open windows for fresh air, you can hear everything above you. We heard phone conversations, heated arguments, high heels and constant walking around (I don’t think the people above us ever sat down and relaxed), and not to mention the people above us were musicians and taught in home piano and voice lessons in their apartment — I swear I had nightmares of bad sounding scales for months). Unfortunately for us, our upstairs neighbors weren’t so kind and understanding and didn’t stop their 11pm-​5am nightly jam sessions when we asked them to. It was like having live concerts in our apartment and they seemed to mostly creep out in the late hours of the evening.
Shame because FL is an awesome building in a pretty convenient location. We loved Fishtown, but wish we had moved into another place when we were looking. In the end, the biggest problem can be fixed with insulation and dry wall — something we constantly brought to management but their argument is that it’s a historic building and they are not allowed to change the aesthetics (aka they don’t want to pay for it).

Let me preface this review by stating that I have lived here for 4 months, and I have not encountered most of the issues that the previous posters have had. Let me start off with the positive aspects!
1. The apartments are huge… not big… huge. There is so much space in my apartment. It is the first thing that people mention when visiting. The huge apartments also come with their own character. I have exposed brick, city views, a pillar, and 10 large windows. The amenities are new and there are also dedicated parking spots. Let me not glance over the oversized kitchen. You don’t find these in apartments. Great counter space for pretend cooks like myself. These are some of the best looking apartments in the city for young professionals.
2. Location… I can’t stress this enough. The building has great location. There is a 2 minute walk to the El. You can get downtown in minutes. The building is a few blocks from I95, which allows for quick access to 676, etc. and you are bordering Fishtown /​Northern Libs. Hipster, but cool.
3. Things to do… Barcade is across the street (place gets packed on the weekends and the patrons can be loud leaving the venue), all of the restaurants and shops on Frankford Ave (jinxed, La Colombe, Kensington Quarters, The Saint, ect.) I can go on and on… there are tons of things to do. Oh… and you get your pick of 5 – 6 food trucks Thur-​Sat off of Frankford ave.
4. Neighbors… everyone is really cool in this building. It is important to get to know your neighbors because you can hear everything… and I mean everything. So if music gets too loud, it is important to let your neighbor know to turn it down. My neighbors are pretty quiet, so I guess I’m lucky.
That leads me to the negative aspect of the property. There is really only one true negative aspect and I would give this place a five if it was corrected. As everyone has stated previously, you hear your neighbors. You hear them talking and walking. I was prepared to hear my neighbors due to the fact that it is a loft style apartment with exposed beams. So I’m not totally surprised. The beams actually make the place look cool. But I wish the beams were covered. I would rather not hear anyone. I don’t mind the noise in the common area as much. The real issue is the bedroom. You have to really block out your neighbors once you get into the bedroom. I actually think that there would be less complaints if the bedroom was insulated and sound proofed. I have to admit that my neighbor wakes me up from time to time. I probably do the same.
Management has been good to me so far. I had a leak that they responded very quickly. They fixed my toilet when I asked them to. I have one other minor issue that hasn’t been resolved, but its not a deal breaker. I can tell that they have been trying to step up their efforts. They added a recycling bin. It would be helpful if the trash company was a little more helpful picking up the trash… but hey… they are the trash company. They also added (or turned on) a light to the tenants that park outside. I was very pleased about this because my girlfriend parks back there and it was dark.
Word to the wise: If you stumble out of Johnny Brenda’s and mother nature calls… skip the elevator… you are better off taking the stairs.
Verdict: good place to live if you are not bothered by hearing your neighbors.

Horrible management company. Literally incompetent scam artists. Nothing that was guaranteed to be ready upon move in (including the basement garage which still isn’t done after a year) was done until months after move in. No insulation in between the apartment above/​below so you hear everything. Oh and I’m sure the vents leading out from everyone’s apartment into the hallways to heat and cool the common apace in the building aren’t legal. All the residents got together and threatened to withhold rent. That should say enough. The apartments may look nice, but its not worth the hassle. I’d give them 0 stars if I could… seriously

I would never rent here again. Imagine listening to loud bass music on a weeknight because ur neighbors are inconsiderate. I was told this place was for young professionals, now when Im told this I like to believe it. But blasting music on a Thursday night when people have work on a Friday doesn’t make me wanna live in that place. There is no insulation in the walls or ceiling so be prepared to hear all ur neighbors conversation. Basically don’t rent here.

Crooks and scam artist AKA SLUM LORDS. PTRE Capital (name of the property owner has been a true nightmare to work with. They are the epitome of a bad business model looking to make money off the tenants and attempt to charge you for the world. If you have other options I would explore them and make sure that you don’t rent any PTRE Capital properties.

Never. I repeat, never, move in here unless you enjoy trouble from incompetent management companies.
We decided to move from South Philly to Fishtown when this building was still under construction last year. We met with the realtor and went through the model unit which looked lovely. We put down our deposit and looked forward to moving in December 1^st. Unfortunately, due to poor management of the project, the construction was delayed, and we had to ask our current landlord to let us stay in our home for an extra month. Luckily he hadn’t found another tenant because Justin at the management company said they couldn’t afford to put us up in a hotel for the month, and our families live out of town.
When we could finally move in to our unit, the construction wasn’t finished and the elevator was broken. Our unit was on the fourth floor and we needed the elevator for our furniture. When we called to ask what to do, we were told someone from management could come for just a little while to operate it for us, however he couldn’t stay long because he «had to be at a wedding.» Obviously elevators break, but this was a brand new building. Side note– They also didn’t get the elevator safety certificate until March.
Construction workers were still finishing in our unit as we were trying to bring our belongings into the apt. When we walked in, I was so upset I cried. The bathrooms were missing mirrors, the fixtures in the bathrooms didn’t have hardware on them, there were gaping holes in the wall, it wasn’t cleaned, the A’C system wasn’t working properly, and they spray painted the molding white without putting down a drop cloth so we had white spray all. over. our floors. I had to purchase a steam mop to try and get it up because management didn’t send anyone to clean it up. It took several weeks/​months to get these issues resolved.
Once we moved in we quickly realized others in our building had the same issues and everyone was so upset they decided to withhold rent by placing it in an escrow account until management finished fixing their issues. We decided not to do this however.
There was a break-​in downstairs and down the hall from us, and management didn’t tell us about it. Luckily our neighbors who had their apt broken into sent around a letter explaining what happened.
The building also wasn’t authorized for legal occupancy until March, yet it was full in January.
It’s a shame the management company is so incompetent and shady because the actual units are large and have a lot of character. I loved our apt and was sad to leave last month, but I’m very happy to be finished dealing with these people.
We’re very familiar with the construction process, so we know how these things are supposed to work. These guys are a mess. please save yourself a headache and if you want to be in Fishtown, look for another building. Anything NOT managed by PTRE Capital.