Tower Place Apartments — Local services in Philadelphia

I lived at Tower Place for two years, and unfortunately, my experience was far from what I expected from a so-called luxury apartment building.

Front entrance: The outdoor patio area, once equipped with ample seating and multiple grills, has deteriorated SIGNIFICANTLY. The furniture is now in disrepair, and only one grill remained compared to the 3 that were there when i first moved in. The dog run, a small area with artificial turf, was functional but unimpressive. The overall maintenance of these spaces declined noticeably during my tenancy. Garbage was everywhere.

Security Concerns: Since the area outside the entrance isn’t blocked off to the public, the amount of times I have seen homeless people and teenagers hang out is wild.

Gym Facilities: The gym, located in the basement, did not seem to be not well-maintained. The ceiling appeared to be falling apart, the equipment was outdated and frequently broken, particularly the treadmills, and non-machine gym equipment was also outdated. The basement also seemed eerie.

Theater and Yoga Room: The theater room had been locked throughout most of my time there. When a new management took over shortly into my lease period, they converted it into a golf simulator. But even that never opened during my time there. The yoga room was also rarely used. For the amount of space this place has, there was so much potential for amenities, but it all just felt like wasted space.

Elevators: Literally, most of my time there the elevator was out of service. I wish I was exaggerating. Initially, there were three working elevators and one freight elevator, but within a few months, one elevator was out of service all the time. More often than not, there would be only one working elevator, leaving residents without access via elevator to the lounge.

Lobby and Package Room: The lobby furniture was outdated, and the package room was often overcrowded. The packages piled up in the lobby area at times.

Concierge / Security: I felt like anyone was able to get buzzed in without proper verification. I felt unsafe at times, to the point where I considered installing additional security measures in my apartment.

Penthouse Amenities: The penthouse amenities also appeared to be not updated or looked after well. The pool table was fine in the beginning but after a few months of playing, i noticed the pool sticks were almost all broken and never got replaced in the years i was there. The office space, which once had computers and a printer for resident use, was turned into a conference room.

Maintenance: The building had only one maintenance worker responsible for the entire property. While he seemed competent and friendly, I often felt like he needed more support.

Water Pipe Burst: A major water pipe burst six months into my lease, causing significant flooding across six floors. Many residents, including friends of mine, had to abruptly move out of their apartments with little to no compensation or assistance in finding alternative accommodations. The damage to my floor was pretty bad and went unrepaired for over a year. Repairs were slow.

HVAC Issues: The HVAC system was a constant problem for me. It often didn’t work, leaving me hot in the summer and freezing in the winter. Despite numerous work orders, the issues were never fully resolved. This was particularly frustrating given the high utility bills I was charged, even after I moved out. The struggle to get reimbursed for the non-functioning HVAC was the ultimate frustration for me.

Unfulfilled Renovation Promises: Management displayed plans for a modernized lobby, which initially gave me hope for improvement. However, no renovations ever took place by the time I moved out.

Pros: Spacious apartments Relatively cheaper rent for the space offered Convenient location near a large grocery store and public transportation Walkable distance to Center City

Despite some positives, the numerous issues I faced at Tower Place made it difficult to justify the cost of...

Cont. During the move-out, I was in possession of the cart for LESS THAN 30 MIN after giving the front desk a notice. The front desk came knocking my door around 11:45PM and requested me to return the cart, while I already took a lot of effort placing my luggage on there. I had to BEG for an extra 20 minutes.... GOOOOODDDD!!!!! This should be on contract when the landlord can come knocking the door without prior notice, I believe this would not be a pleasant experience for anyone.

When I had to transfer my lease to someone else, the leasing office first told me they can accept an application of a tenant without an SSN, and then denied the application of an international scholar from Germany. What is even more ridiculous, they cannot refund the prospective tenant directly for the holding deposit she paid, it had to be refunded to me and I had to paypal or cash the prospective tenant. I believe this part of tenant responsibility? is also not listed on the contract?? They ask for favors to make it convenient for them, but are mean to us at the same time... Unbelievable??!!

The common area on the top floor, the ground floor lobby as well as the ground level store outside had been on construction throughout my tenancy! On the ground floor, they have a poster stating "excuse our mess and inconvenience caused etc". But they charge you 75$ for the plastic keycard and would not accept express mail-ins regardless of their terrible management in the move-out process. Why did not the front desk staff ask for it when I checked out????!!!!!! WHAT?

See they want you to excuse their construction, excuse the noise which waking up everyone at 7am if you do not wear ear plugs as well as inaccessibility to building facilities during renovation.... BUT THEY CANNOT EXCUSE YOU for simply returning a plastic key card late despite their management problems while checking out :/

It was an extremely stressful experience living here, the atmosphere is like they are ruling you, they are your boss and you owe them everything... I have also heard from a tenant that the top floor has leaking problems. If that's true, I would suggest not to select the top floor.

Since they are not being nice and considerate, I have to say the inaccessibility to building facilities during the renovation period is a breech of leasing contract, false advertising and a violation of FAIR TRADE ACT.

I didn't want to spend time complaining after I left and wanted to leave a peaceful impression... but dealing with the plastic key card and the 75$ extra charge was such a torture... and an extremely difficult experience after they say they cannot even accept a FEDEX EXPRESS mail-in...

RIP... At least it is over... I plead first amendment right of free...

Here are a few areas about their terrible management: The leasing office staff are extremely rude except for one. When I moved in, they gave me a ton of hard times. Never patient with new tenants but they do charge you a 250$ administration fee. In case of a question, the leasing office would say," We have a lot of business and we do not have time to deal with anything related to your concern etc" You cannot use the elevator except for the freight elevator during move-in. I got their late on the move-in day. The manager and the co-tenant said previously the personal check is fine, but then requested me to get a money order otherwise cannot give me the keys. Geeeez, if you are not confident about getting monthly rent from tenant personal check, why do you approve the application in the first place. Mostly insulting experience ever had in Philadelphia while having been studying in Philly for years. The manager agreed on me to move small boxes with a passenger elevator and then the front desk staff who were also extremely rude, told me that I may not be able to move this week. Had to pay for the truck and moving company twice because of this. The FOB(plastic keycard) was not given to me until a few days (at least 10) after I have moved in. While I check out, there is NONE manage level instructions or assistance. I dropped off the keys with the front desk staff and they did NOT tell me the plastic keycard needs to be returned. I offered to mail this card back via FEDEX, and one leasing office agent said it is fine. BUT the other one said not, and charged me 75$ for the plastic key card. I cannot authorize this charge, so I need a company dispute and management level attention! I would not have to go through this if not for the lossy management during the checkout process to start with. I did not authorize or sign a contract for this charge either. You may 1) send the charge of 75$ to collection 2) send the charge of 75$ to mediation 3) Mail me a court order. Unreasonable!!! A plastic key card is not FIRST AID, why FEDEX MAILIN cannot be accepted?

The front desk staff extremely rude... One of them shouted/yelled at me while I was returning the cart,"You have had this cart for the entire weekend!". In fact, I did not... He mistook me as another person, angrily checked his system, and then DID NOT...