My entire life has been spent living in one place to another throughout the northeast. I've lived in Hanson, Bridgewater, New Bedford, Quincy, Boston, twice in Manchester (NH), and Hartford (CT). I even lived in Atlanta, Georgia for a small spell. It's fair to say I've experienced my share of apartment and condo living over the years, in both urban and rural environments, so I believe I'm quite qualified to lend a balanced opinion where apartment homes and rental properties are concerned.
My latest tour comes in the form of Washington Mill Lofts, a jewel of a property in an otherwise run down part of the Boston region that is, for the most part, Lawrence. The mill and the mill buildings surrounding it are among the oldest in the area, from what I understand. That said, the end result of the renovation of Washington Mill is quite impressive. One is almost immediately sold upon walking into the front lobby alone, laid out in a beautiful modern industrial feel, replete with roughly hewn stone remnants along the base of the brick walls. Two large, shiny elevators take you all the way up to the top (sixth) floor. You can opt to walk the way up to the final level, a sun roof that gives a nice view of the surrounding area.
The hallways are spacious, making the move-in easy, even with the large, load-bearing wooden pillars throughout (they add to the rustic industrial charm of the place). The units themselves are very spacious and open. The brick walls, wooden beams, tall, arched windows, 14ft high ceilings, and concrete floors certainly sold me. As a photographer and artist, I fell in love with the openness and light of the main living spaces afforded in each unit. Top floor units get dormas, which let in even more light.
There are, however, areas where this apartment community could be improved, and it's in the little things. When moving into my unit on the third floor, I became aware fairly quickly that the unit was not professionally cleaned. I had to sweep and vacuum the floors, due to obvious dust bunnies. The underside of the kitchen area's cabinet overhang hadn't been wiped clean in some time. The toilets needed a good scrubbing inside and out. The sink in the master bathroon was permanently stained, though to the staff's credit, they did replace this counter top after my request to do so. I replaced the toilet paper rollers (they were worn) and had to tighten a mount. I cleaned out the sinks in the apartment, as well as the shower. Cob webs had to be removed high up on the ceilings.
Moving in was a little awkward. I opted for a Budget Rental truck to carry the bulk of the move. The decks on these trucks are very low, but the loading dock at Washington Mill Lofts is high, and with no dock leveler, this is a bit of an inconvenience. There is a loading dock barrier bar that runs across the entrance that prevents the truck from getting close to the dock. The staff refused to unlock it and remove it, saying is was put in place for liability reasons. I suppose they are worried about damage to their property, but considering this bar was in our way, liability in the form of personal injury in passing things over it or, even worse, balancing on it as you haul something out of the truck and onto the deck, seems more of a risk. Make sure you get a truck with a high deck when moving here. That way there, you can pull the truck's ramp (possibly) over the annoying barrier.
Large packages are graciously handled by the office. Refuse is handled with trash chutes. Residents don't have direct access to the dumpsters, however, so keep this in mind before your move, or you'll be paying money to get rid of that old chair you didn't really need to bring. The gym is adequate, albeit a little on the small side.
Overall, I say that if you're interested in an affordable apartment (and $1,400.00-$1,600.00 is what flies for "affordable" in apartments these days within Massachusetts) with a lot of character and square footage somewhere in the Lawrence/Lowell area, Washington Mill Lofts is one of the better options. I say "better" due to the lower cost per-month in rent.
Update on October 24th: Regarding sound, be aware that about every other resident here has a dog. Dogs tend to bark, inside and outside the apartment at random times. For this reason, my rating slipped from four stars to three. :-| Per my experience in another unit, also note that WM does not take sound complaints exceptionally seriously. There was a woman living beneath me when I lived in unit #633 who had a clockwork of screaming autistic children. Beyond issuing warnings, the management didn't do anything about her, despite repeated complaints. I realize it's a "touchy" legal matter, but it was a completely unacceptable level of noise. I drowned it out with a fan easily enough, but be warned about sound issues here. For the type of building it is, the sound control is pretty good, but the management drops the ball in light of serious offenders. read more
