NOT OUR FAULT
Kaufmann’s/Macy’s developer responds to lawsuit over delays
Don’t blame us.
That, in essence, is a Philadelphia developer’s response to a lawsuit blaming it for delays in the opening of a 160-room Even Hotel inside the former Kaufmann’s/Macy’s department store Downtown.
In a response filed last week in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, 400 5th Ave. LP, an affiliate of Core Realty, repeatedly claimed that to the extent any work “was not complete by a specified date, such outstanding work was the result of delay caused by third parties, public utilities, and/or circumstances beyond” its control.
The developer was responding to a lawsuit filed in April by AM Pitt Hotel LLC in which it charged that Core’s “extreme delay” in finishing the overall project, which also includes 311 luxury apartments and 130,000 square feet of retail, had prevented the hotel from opening.
Charging breach of contract, AM Pitt is seeking at least $15 million in damages from Core. The lawsuit stated AM Pitt gave Core three extensions to finish base building work that included fire and safety systems; mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems; elevators; building envelope protection; windows; and an atrium.
Core missed the deadlines included in the extensions for finishing, according to the complaint.
In its response, Core admitted there was a lack of electrical power until June 2018. But it maintained that was the “result of actions and inaction by Duquesne Light Co.”
“By way of further response, [Core] diligently pursued the installation of permanent power to the building with Duquesne Light Co., and Duquesne Light Co. changed drawings, delayed inspections, and failed to timely deliver transformers necessary for permanent power at the building.”
It claimed that those issues caused a delay of about 18 months in getting power to the building. Core, in the response, charged that the delay was the “sole fault” of Duquesne Light.
The developer also stated that any delay in getting dedicated elevators “was due to Duquesne Light Co.’s refusal to provide the building with permanent power and/or Hadfield Elevator’s delay and/or reconfiguration of the elevators as requested” by AM Pitt.
Core and Duquesne Light have clashed over the power issue in the past. In a statement last June after the utility installed six new underground transformers to deliver power to the building, spokeswoman Ashlee Yingling stressed that Duquesne Light hadn’t missed any deadlines.
She said, “Once we received notice that the customer completed the necessary electrical work inside the building and obtained wiring approvals from the city, we were able to connect the building to permanent power.”
On Thursday, spokeswoman Niki Campbell said the utility stood by those statements.
“The work for Core Realty at the Kaufmann’s Grand on Fifth building was completed last June after the developer received the proper wiring approvals from the City of Pittsburgh,” she stated in an email.
Bob Hadfield, owner of Hadfield Elevator, said Thursday his company walked off the job after not being paid about $2.4 million by Core for work done in the building. The response acknowledges Hadfield did leave the job. It maintained the elevator company “misrepresented it was further with its work that [sic] it actually was,” a claim Mr. Hadfield said wasn’t true.
Matthew Shollar, an AM Pitt representative, declined comment Thursday on the developer’s response. After the lengthy delays, the hotel, he said, is “still hoping to open in the near term.”
Michael Samschick, Core president and CEO, also declined comment. He said last month that the overall project was nearing its completion and that residents were starting to move into the building.