Now is the beginning of my eighth year at Sherman Mills. Many of my neighbors are long term renters too. That says a lot. Here is my positive take on Sherman Mills based on my experience here, and without exaggeration.
My apartment at Sherman Mills is a large one-bedroom loft with plenty of windows, and came with state-of-the-art appliances, pristine pine floors, large timber beams, 20 foot ceilings with exposed beams and elements, one and a half baths, a Jacuzzi tub, a washer and dryer, plenty of closet space, an internet connection, and a front balcony overlooking a vibrant dog park and an old red barn where a blacksmith plies his trade.
There is plenty of safe parking here. There is a private gym for everyone's use. And also, there are a number of businesses on the fairly large campus - day care, salons, musical training, yoga, personal trainers, event spaces, artist studios, and more. There is a glassworks next door as well as a rock climbing gym, and a cross fit gym a block away. Many of the tenants here are on the younger side. Many are professionals. There are dogs and other critters in abundance.
The low-rise buildings here were built before the Civil War as a textile mill, which among other things produced uniforms for the Union Army. Much of its architectural age was painstakingly preserved by Mark Sherman so that there is a unique, aesthetically pleasing and enchanting mixture of the old and the new that you can see everywhere - inside and out. Each apartment is different from the others, and that is so because it was apparently important to Mr. Sherman to keep the integrity of the old spaces as much as possible. All of these buildings had different functions back in their day, and now they all contain different apartments and other rental spaces.
The quality of life here is peaceful. It's almost like living in a bubble. Once I'm on the grounds, I'm not bothered by the normal bustle of city living. Yet this bubble is very close to what Philadelphia has to offer to cosmopolitan people. Center City is four miles away - a pleasant, winding four mile drive south along the river (Kelly Drive) right on into Eaton Circle at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The vast green space of Fairmount Park is a couple blocks away just beyond the historic Laurel Hill Cemetery. Manayunk's Main Street begins a mile north. You can walk to the river in 10 minutes, with easy access to both its east and west banks. It's a biker's paradise.
Living here has been mostly problem-free for me because the property manager and maintenance are on-the-spot attentive to the usual things that come up in a tenancy - fix a leak, replace a dishwasher, fix a hole in the wall, do some painting. And it seems that there's always some improvement project happening on any given day.
My rent is on the premium side, but certainly competitive. Given the one-of-a-kind spacious apartment, the amenities, my neighbors, and the location, to me it is well worth it. While there are certainly other lofts and loft style apartments in the city - Center City and Northern Liberties, for example - Sherman Mills provides something special, an exceptional, aesthetically pleasing habitat.
Lastly, Sherman Mills is located in East Falls, one of Philadelphia's oldest neighborhoods. I've seen maps from the early 17th century showing what would later be named Scotts Lane, which is our street address. I bring this up because it is easy to see how the neighborhood developed over time into a sort of fulcrum or hub that provides quick access to all the main arteries flowing in all directions. For example, there is quick and easy access to Ridge Ave., U.S. 1, and I-76. You can see what I mean on Google Maps. As well, the train station here will take you pretty much wherever you want to go.
In this review I have not exaggerated one bit. read more
