Cielo — Local services in Seattle

1/7/25 update. First, I want to say as a resident of over six years these folks posting these fake reviews saying it’s such a great building and these things happen didn’t live here when Chea and Berkshire (and even Michael) were in charge. They did NOT let these things happen. Maintenance requests were resolved within a day (if not within hours). I am STILL waiting since 12/1/24 on a service request that hasn’t even received a response from anyone because there is no maintenance personnel. Second, I have had to contact the city of Seattle to get the illegal short term rental taken care of. Not that it’s fully resolved but I have had to do the leg work because the property manager has said “this is Seattle”. Third, the leasing office has said the portal sucks it’s better to just email us directly. But hasn’t sent out an email saying this. So folks, just look at the posters in the elevator and bombard them with emails because the portal emails don’t get to them, they say. There’s a review below with the property manager’s email in it too. Email Brookfield customer service too. CustomerService@brookfieldpropertiesmultifamily.com Hopefully by doing this we will get some resolution. I’ve asked for some rental compensation. I’ve asked for someone to call me about a rental discount on renewal due to the lack of HVAC, lack of concierge and office (then they sent an email about package pick up etiquette when they came back to work!!), lack of elevators (tho the leasing office could deliver notices on doors of other tenants and made us walk down flights of stairs!!). The outside entrance area of the building needs cleaned up. The elevators look ridiculous. Broken windows on 31! Yes, the views are awesome. The communication and upkeep of the building is not. There’s been a lot of turnover in the staffing. There is zero consistency which isn’t comforting.

12/3/24 update: updated to four stars (three and a half) with some caveats. They appear to be vacuuming the whole floor though we will see after a tenant moved out and left a mess I will update this next week. The trash room was finally emptied. The front door does work now. The revolving door is open but is locked rather early, IMO. The new, new management has yet to respond, but Brandon has and explained the new portal basically sucks for communication and should email the office directly. (Then why even have the portal? Maybe send a mass email telling us this.). Parties on 31 seem to have stopped with the new concierges enforcing rules. Construction was from an illegal short term rental remodeling which may or may not be remedied. They promise things are getting back to the “Chea days” and returning to the luxury apartments we all signed up for and PAY A LOT FOR. The carpeting on the lower floors does need to be replaced it is very worn. Updates to follow… Previous review: The hallways are littered with dirt. They used to vacuum at least once a week. It’s not been done in over a month. The trash room is littered with trash and construction equipment. The front door fob system is broken yet they won’t allow the revolving door to be used during “business hours”. I never understood why the revolving door got locked - especially when it it basically touch-free and there is to be 24 hour concierge/security. The storage level is littered with trash and belongings. New management is unresponsive to numerous requests for the front door to be fixed. There has been zero communication from new management about all of these issues. Tenants are doing construction work outside of allowed hours. There are parties on level 31 after allowed noise ordinance hours. I’ve lived here five years. This is the worst it’s been. I was hoping for some change back to the way it was five years ago but the new management is definitely not stepping up to get us back to the luxury apartments that we pay for. About the only positive lately is that maintenance in-home service requests are done - most times - on...

Cielo Apartments / Brookfield Properties

If we could leave a 0 star we would. While the property itself seems nice enough, the problems you deal with while living here are so constant and inconvenient that the entire living experience is ruined. We do not feel at home or safe here. It is such a constant source of stress and frustration it has affected our well being, both financially and health wise. Here is a breakdown:

Legally Uninhabitable Conditions

Cielo Apartments, managed by Brookfield Properties, has repeatedly failed to meet basic legal standards for habitability as set out in the Seattle Municipal Code. For months at a time, our apartment has not maintained the required minimum temperature due to ongoing HVAC failures. We have documented and reported these issues in writing, with temperature logs, but the problems persist. This is the second time in less than a year we have faced extended periods without heat, sometimes for months at a stretch. This is especially an issue since our patio door handle is constantly broken off due to poor craftmanship and we cannot fully close the exterior door.

Chronic Maintenance Failures

Maintenance issues here are frequent as the included furnishings like dishwashers and dryers are as cheap as possible. And when maintenance tickets are submitted, they rarely resolved in a timely or effective manner. We have dealt with:

Persistent HVAC outages: Left without heat for months, both during winter and spring. Hot water outages: Extended periods with unreliable hot water. Plumbing leaks: Water leaking from our bathroom wall, never fully repaired. A Sewage smell: Strong, ongoing odors from the bathroom since move-in, not resolved despite repeated requests. Leaking faucets and broken fixtures: Reported, sometimes “fixed” temporarily, but issues often return. Filthy move-in condition: Sticky cabinets, dirty oven, unfinished paint, missing blinds, and broken drawers.

Elevator and Security Issues

Elevator outages are a constant inconvenience, causing long wait times and, on more than one occasion, forcing us to carry groceries and luggage up all 22 floors. Security has also been an issue; our electronic lock failed while we were away, leaving us locked out overnight upon return from vacation.

Also, my car was broke in to and several things stolen even though it was parked in the Cielo garage, 5 floors down. Did they take responsibility or offer help? Of course not. And this has happened to many cars throughout our stay, we see shattered glass in the garage all the time.

Communication and Management Response

When problems become widespread, tenants typically receive a generic building-wide email notification: “We are aware of the issue, sorry for the inconvenience.” They never provide timeline, explanation, nor real plan for resolution.

When tenants follow up for updates, the standard reply is, “We’re waiting on a part,” regardless of the issue. After initial politeness, property staff (Anthony and Edith) become unresponsive.

Also, I assure you, that the recent 5 star reviews were paid for or no longer accurate. The one mentioning Daniel as an asset.. they fired him. Yes he was great and the only person to ever communicate, and they fired him.

I have uploaded a few photos we were comfortable sharing as proof: Broken handle, leaking bathroom wall with terrible spackle, and the HVAC system showing error CH150 since mid march.

A Draining and Stressful Experience

Everything described above is documented in our correspondence with management. Living at Cielo has been a constant battle to get even the most basic services restored, with little to no support from Brookfield Properties. Many tenants are currently legally breaking their lease to get away (ours ends in a month). If you value a stress-free home, I would strongly advise looking elsewhere. This building will...

This concern is directed to Brookfield corporate management, as the local office has repeatedly failed to address the issue appropriately.

Hello, I have been living in the Cielo apartments for over a year now, but in the past 6 months something has clearly gone wrong with the management, and living here has become unpleasant.

First of all, there are constant problems with the elevators. We have three elevators, and very often either all of them are down, or only one is working. Since December of last year, this has become the norm. The building has 31 floors and 5 levels of underground parking — it’s extremely frustrating to either walk up that high or wait 15 minutes for a single elevator. Usually, for two weeks the elevators seem to work fine, then for two weeks they don’t. This pattern has continued for the past six months. I honestly don’t even remember the last time all three elevators were working at the same time.

The second issue is with the concierge service — it seems they are not properly trained or managed. Packages often pile up on the table outside the package room instead of being taken inside for safekeeping. I know this happens in many apartment buildings, but we specifically chose Cielo because this used to be handled much better. The concierge used to take care of deliveries immediately and place them in the secure room, sometimes even handing them to residents directly. Now, anyone could just take my package. This isn’t always the case, but it’s happening often enough to be considered the new norm.

Another problem we had was a blocked trash chute, which lasted about two weeks. On the rooftop — where the lounge area is — the smell of garbage from the chute was awful. I’m glad the issue was eventually resolved, but it’s a miracle we didn’t end up with a cockroach infestation given how long it was blocked — across all 30 floors!

Now, almost every day the elevator is completely packed because everyone waits for a single working elevator. It’s become normal to hear constant complaints from residents. I even saw a profanity scratched into the elevator wall, aimed at the building and its management. The next day, the elevator wall panel was replaced — clearly to hide it — but the dissatisfaction is widespread.

It feels like management is doing absolutely nothing. We are extremely frustrated with the elevator situation. There are many cheaper apartments in the city, but we chose Cielo — despite the higher price — because we expected better service and higher standards. Unfortunately, things have gotten significantly worse. If we were looking for an apartment today, we most likely wouldn’t choose Cielo.

Previously, the manager was Brandon — he was always kind, helpful, and a pleasure to deal with. He really made a difference. The current management team is the opposite — cold, unhelpful, and unfriendly. It’s unpleasant to even ask them for assistance, as they usually give the same dry responses: “We’re working on it,” “We understand,” and nothing more.

About two months ago, I ran into a concierge I hadn’t seen in a long time, and she asked me in the elevator if I had noticed the decline in management quality. It was obvious she was shocked by how much things had deteriorated at Cielo. I haven’t seen her since — perhaps she quit, or was let go.

I’m writing this message in hopes that you — the corporate office — can do something to improve the situation. I will also post this message as a review on Google and other platforms, hoping it will reach someone higher up in the company who can influence the quality of management at...