The Republic — Local services in Philadelphia

3 months ago, I would have written this building a very good review. Prior to the building’s new management, the management office was attentive, present within the building, and communicated ongoing issues appropriately. However, the new management, Sentinel Real Estate Corporation, is anything but that. It’s easy to complain when things go bad, and not give praise when things for when things go right. But, since the takeover, there has been nothing to praise about the new management company.

There are a few issues outlined in this review, all of which have not been addressed and/or fixed after many tries to communicate with management:

The leasing portal/utilities payments. 3 months since the new management, and we have still not established a straightforward way to pay rent and see our utility bill. The rent portal has continuously not posted rent and utilities for the month, requiring residents to estimate rent + utility payments and be charged late fees in many cases. This has been addressed with management and no answers have been received by any of the residents.

Maintenance/amenities issues. This is an old building, so understandably this are bound to go wrong and not be as “nice” as a modern building. But, some of these issues are inexcusable, especially considering the lack of communication from management. First, the gym does not appear to be cleaned since the new management took over — this is really the only “amenity” in the building and they have failed to maintain it. Frankly, it’s just gross. Furthermore, the building used to provide coffee and printing services, but this has gone to the wayside and has not been up-kept whatsoever. The building’s hot water has frequent problems and management haphazardly communicates when they are aware of issues and when repairs will be made. Other reviews here have complained about the management’s response to the PECO power outage, which I can attest to — it was NOT good. The manager was unreachable for the weekend and left us with no answers about the lack of water, electric, and A/C. I still don’t know who to call for a maintenance emergency. Additionally, it appears the windows of this building have not been cleaned in years. There is no plan in place for window cleaning and, consequently, all residents have to look out dirty windows full of soot.

Security. Situated in center city, this building is center to everything in city, even the not-so-good things. The security of the building is practically non-existent. Evening front desk associates, frequently leave the doors unlocked, allowing anyone to come in. You have to scan your fob to get into the elevators, but the sometimes it does not require a scan to use, rendering the “security” useless. There have been incidents where homeless people have been found in the basement/gym area. Basically, only thing keeping you safe here is the lousy lock on the apartment door.

Above are just the main issues I have been experiencing. These have been communicated to management, but nothing has been done. Sadly, we will not be renewing our lease here. I highly recommend this place if you enjoy feeling like a metric on this corporations real...

Don't live here until there's a new manager. The new management company who took over in July has been completely unresponsive and treated long time residents horribly. They forced out long time employees who were incredibly good at their job. The people who took over are all also unresponsive and don't seem to care about legitimate issues in the building. For the first 2 weeks after the new company took over, the phone number they listed on several emails and letters was not working. When I went to speak with the managers office I was informed that I must have been dialing the wrong number because the number they sent is the right one- right before I had a door slammed in my face by the person who was supposed to help. About a week later, the office finally figured out that the number was never actually connected when one of the manager's kids tried to call the office line. Yet when the tenants informed them, we got nothing.

Then in late August 2022, there was a power outage which affected the A/C system in the middle of an intense heatwave. Many apartments reached temperatures above 85 degrees, had no power and had no communication from the management company. They refused to answer any phones, emails or any other attempt to contact them until someone emailed the manager via a personal LinkedIn account. This issue lasted more than 2 days and the A/C was not repaired for another few days. About 1 week after this, the hot water in the building stopped working and again, there was no communication from management for hours. I went downstairs to the managers office that day and they gave vague assurances about how they would have it fixed soon. The very frustrating part of this is that the company refuses to credit tenants who were forced to leave the apartment for several days due to poor living conditions. Yet they have no problem adding random late fees and other assorted charges to accounts in the hope that we won't notice and will just pay whatever they say.

It looks like the only way to get a reply from this management company is by posting a review because they seem to pay...

My partner and I lived at The Republic for two years and absolutely loved it. We had a 2-bed, 2-bath corner unit that was spacious with great lighting and a gorgeous view of the city. The area is fantastic, a few blocks from Rittenhouse Square, with anything you could want (gym, grocery store, parks) walkable within a few minutes. The building offers competitive rents, especially when compared to other “luxury” apartments in the area. We paid as much for our 2-bedroom as a friend paid for his much smaller 1-bedroom at 2116 Chestnut, with fairly comparable amenities.

The building has a great gym and common area in the basement that are very convenient. You can reserve a conference room or kitchen area whenever you like, and we used them every now and then for hosting friends or study sessions.

There is a dedicated front desk person every day to help with package deliveries and handle other questions/issues. Sciencia worked the front desk most weekdays and was extremely kind and professional - she was always a joy to talk to and very helpful if we ever had questions. Packages are logged as soon as they arrive and we are notified and we’ve never had an issue with a delivery.

We did run into a few minor issues while living in the Republic. A couple of the elevators tend to be out of service, which can slow down getting in and out of the building. There was also an issue with hot water being a bit unreliable for a few weeks at one point, but we have not had an issue since it was fixed. Management is always quick to respond to issues and works diligently to fix them.

Overall, I highly recommend the Republic as a great option for anyone looking to live in the Rittenhouse...