The Philadelphia company redeveloping the former Kaufmann’s/Macy’s department store in Downtown PIttsburgh has had so many delays on the project over the past two years that company managers stopped making predictions on when apartments will be ready to move in.
Now court records filed this week show contractors working at the property also are facing delays in getting paid more than $800,000 for labor and materials.
Triton Holdings filed a petition Tuesday in Common Pleas Court against Philadelphia-based 400 5th Avenue LP for $630,702 in interior demolition, asbestos removal and fire proofing of the structure. Triton claims it has been requesting payments from the developer since July 24.
Pittsburgh Property Maintenance filed a mechanics lien claim on Wednesday against 400 5th Avenue LP for $177,347 for miscellaneous carpentry work that has gone unpaid since Sept. 14.
Philadelphia developer Core Realty, an affiliate of 400 5th Avenue, purchased the Downtown landmark for $15 million in 2015 with plans to transform it into a premier mixed use complex after Macy's closed the 13-story department store.
Core Realty president and CEO Michael Samschick could not be reached for comment.
The $100 million project is slated to include 311 luxury apartments and a 160-room Even Hotel. The building welcomed its first tenant — a restaurant called Waffles, INCaffeinated — in September in a 3,000-square-foot space that used to be the junior’s department at the old Kaufmann’s annex.
Tim Grant: tgrant@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1591.
First Published: November 15, 2018, 5:30 p.m.
