The Cork Factory Lofts — Local services in Pittsburgh

Worst decision we've made about housing. As I sit here in my warm new home on Christmas Eve, I am reminded of our time at the cork having spoken to a a few friends who are still there and enjoying Christmas Eve without heat. Yes that's right, no heat and it is about 5 degrees outside. It seems egregious but in actuality I feel little surprise given my overall experience at the cork. It is a huge place and there is a general lack of competence among the people who run that place. Please do not make the mistake we did - even if you are committed to living in the strip district, try anywhere else rather than the cork. During our second stint at the cork factory, my husband and I lived on the top floor of the tower, which is supposed to be the best of the best. And believe me when I say we paid a premium to live there. Unfortunately the inability of the staff to deal with the most mundane of services relating to living day to day made it the worst experience we've had with an apartment. We did not have hot water. For a year, we did not have hot water. And there was no ability on the part of the building to address that. The air conditioning was out frequently. in the summer. The elevator was often unavailable. Yes, that's right, there was no elevator available on many many occasions so we were frequently left to find our way up to the tenth floor on our own. Try bringing a large package or groceries up to the tenth floor with an elevator that can only bring you up to the seventh. Parking is out doors and the pigeons are constantly taking a poo on your car. Rather than address that issue, the staff actually closed off many spaces in order to protect the pigeons nesting areas. People smoking even though the building is non smoking. These are just a few of the highlights. Over and over again the staff demonstrated little competence and zero urgency to deal with problems that were having a huge impact on our lives. And despite these major deficiencies, the rents were raised substantially year to year. Some of our friends faced double digits percent raise in rent. They are clearly abusing the fact that moving is a major hassle. So now I sit in my new home reflecting on how fortunate we are to have left the cork behind. I suggest...

Writing this on the last night of my 13-month lease here and I wish I could be staying longer. If you’re reading this, wondering whether or not you should rent here, I highly recommend it.

My girlfriend and I moved here back in May 2020, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, from California and the process couldn’t have been easier. Due to the pandemic, we couldn’t travel out to Pennsylvania to check out the complex in person but I was able to get a virtual tour from Carmen (compared to a lot of places that just direct you to a YouTube video). It was able to allay a lot of my worries and upon arrival I couldn’t have been more pleased.

The complex itself is great with 24-hour concierge (honesty the best and the employees are the best, shout-out to Deanna for just being awesome our entire time here, a pool and hot tub, coffee station in the lobby, and a gym across the street underneath the parking garage. The complex also hosts a happy hour every Thursday and honestly the community at the Cork is so great and friendly, that I recommend going down at least once during your lease. It’s also extremely pet friendly here, the amount of dogs here is insane and most are very friendly, and I was even able to take our cat out for some strolls in his carrier backpack.

Located in the Strip District, there’s a good amount of bars/breweries and restaurants nearby. Personal favorite nearby (located on the other side of the parking garage) is Coop DeVille, a barcade/restaurant with coffee bar AND duckpin bowling. There’s also a handful of Asian grocery markets nearby and it’s about a 15-20 minute drive to the nearest Trader Joe’s, Giant Eagle, Aldi’s, Whole Foods, Target, or Costco. To top it all off, you’ll be alongside the river which makes for great night time walks.

All in all, I had very few complaints while living here (the people above could probably stand to lift their chairs more often when moving them) and I wish I could stay here for another year to truly experience Pittsburgh. Sad to go but if you’re on the fence about renting an apartment here, I’d...

Not bad, not great. Good location in reference to Downtown, Lawrenceville, and Shadyside. Bad location with regards to shopping. There is no local grocer and most Strip District shops are closed by 4-5PM on weekdays. You WILL need a car or some sort of transportation to get your staples. There are a handful of bars and restaurants around, but nothing compared to South Side, Shadyside, Lawrenceville, and even Downtown.

Cork Factory amenities include a pool, hot tub, outdoor projector screen (NOT a big screen, but it gets the job done), community grills, an outdoor pet area, a newly renovated (for 2016) gym, and lobby with free coffee and wi-fi. There is free bicycle storage and rentable storage units in the garage. The size of the storage units were adequate for someone coming from a two-bedroom townhouse down to a one-bedroom loft.

The lofts themselves are really just small apartments with tall ceilings. They are not your “traditional” loft where the bottom floor is completely open and the sleep area is above. Fit and finish is OK at best and definitely not well-thought-out. For example, our bathroom cabinets cannot be open without first closing the bathroom door. The kitchen has similar issues where drawers run into each other. The additional cable outlet is wired into the bedroom closet. There is no pantry to store dried goods out of the way.

The walls are thin; you will hear everything in the hallway and can hear your neighbors talking at a normal conversation level in their own units. You can smell cigarette smoke from outside or the neighboring units. Some pet owners are great; others are bad and leave pet waste around even though there are MANY waste disposal cans and free bags for pickup.

In all, the Cork Factory has a lot of OK features but the price premium for this isn’t justified, especially when there are so many newer options in the area. I would suggest you keep looking unless you need a...