Lofts At Lower Mills

«Trust me, the pictures provided by one reviewer were taken while units were being renovated, and is not a common occurrence.»
and then…
«It’s simply my opinion, and apparently the experience was different for another reviewer.»
So is it fact… or opinion?
MY PHOTOS WERE.NOT.TAKEN. during renovation. How dare other reviewers presume to know anything about when my photos were taken. I have nothing to gain by showing photos or lying about them. I’m not an irate ex-​tenant, I wasn’t forced out and I left on very good terms. I believe that people deserve to know what they’re investing in and I would want someone to do the same for me, if the situation were reversed. This is my experience and other reviewers have no business disputing that or tearing my experiences apart.
I never said the building wasn’t lovely and unique because of it’s age. I never said neighbors, during my tenure, were arrogant or unkind.
What I did say that is that building owners/​management did a sloppy job with construction and took the cheap route with sub-​flooring and walls/​wall thickness and HVAC, especially, and that if you’re considering investing a half million dollars in a unit, you shouldn’t be able to hear your neighbors through the walls while you sleep, shouldn’t have a film of rock and subflooring dust on/​in everything (including your lungs) and shouldn’t have to suffer through the hottest/​coldest days of the year without a/​c and heat.
This WAS my experience and other people deserve to know that. Continue to live pridefully and harmoniously with your neighbors in your beautifully appointed surroundings and let people decide what inevitable «issues» they’re willing to deal with, after they’ve invested 100’s of thousands of dollars.

I will defend my earlier review once again, and to be clear I have not been provided incentive to do so, other than that I care about my home and community. I am proud to live at the lofts at lower mills. In fact the investment has proven to be better than anticipated. The neighbors are respectful and friendly, the building is beautiful, and frankly I’m proud to live there. Every building of this size and age is going to have issues, and trust me, the pictures provided by one reviewer were taken while units were being renovated, and is not a common occurrence. I am an absolute neat freak and would not live in a place that was routinely covered in debris, so the claim is just false. It’s simply my opinion, and apparently the experience was different for another reviewer.

We recently closed on one of the lofts and cannot wait to move in. We had originally been looking for a house in Milton but could not find one that didn’t need extensive renovation for which we would never recoup our investment, or one that we even liked, for that matter. We still wanted access to green space (i.e., bike paths, quick drive to the Blue Hills) and the ease of the ‘burbs…no problem to jump in your car and hit the grocery store, pick up your kids, run errands… without the hassle of Boston proper. Enter The Lofts at Lower Mills…
The apartments themselves are really something special. Amazing to be right on the river and have all that history when you look up at the beams. It is one of the few spaces we have ever seen where they didn’t ruin the industrial feel by transforming the buildings into condominiums. Everything is solid and constructed properly. The public spaces are well thought out and tastefully decorated. The landscaping is attractive also. You will not be embarrassed to invite people here — they will be envious that you live here. Even the Christmas decorations are tasteful. The buildings are meticulously maintained. Someone is always polishing, vacuuming, sweeping, you name it.
Jonathan Keith, the broker for The Lofts, went to great lengths to help us through the buying process. He was totally flexible and accommodating, and incredibly knowledgeable about the buildings. None of our questions went unanswered. Jonathan is technically rid of us since we are no longer «prospective» owners, but even after we closed, he reiterated that he is happy to help us in any way he can, or answer any questions we may have going forward. Really, who does that these days?
In short, if you are even remotely considering a move to the area, you should give The Lofts at Lower Mills a look. You will be pleasantly surprised by what you find here!

We purchased our condo in February of 2014 and have so far really enjoyed living here. We moved from a multi-​family home in a neighborhood and were unsure if we would like living in such a large building, but have thus far really enjoyed living here. The management has been great – very clean building and grounds and very helpful staff. In a building of 60 units we have not yet (nor do I think we ever will) met all of our neighbors, but the ones we have met are all very nice.
It is a very dog friendly complex which we LOVE – can walk your dog on DCR property next door, down the Neponset Bike trail, through the near by neighborhoods, or the Blue Hills are just a five minute drive away. Also because this complex is on the Neponset River the nature watching is amazing – lots of neat birds right outside – makes you feel like you are not in the city.
Love the community features of the pool and gym too.
The building is also very quiet – we are in a unit that is in between two other units and we rarely hear anything – at most if a neighbor on one side is having a party or gathering we’ll hear them talking, but can’t hear well enough to hear what they are saying (For some reason we only hear the neighbors on the one side?) And once in a blue moon we can hear the neighbors dog upstairs cry and some high heeled footsteps, but overall dead quiet for a building that has 100 people living in it.
Condo fees are high – YES, but you do get a lot for your $…pool, hot tub, gym, beautiful landscaping, snow removal, trash removal, etc, etc,
Overall I have really enjoyed living here.

I bought a condo at the Lofts at Lower Mills in Dorchester (part of Baker Square Condominiums) in February of 2014 and I love living here! The renovations to this historic building were well done. My unit has 18 foot ceilings, which really opens up the place. The bedroom has a big walk-​in closet and the bathroom has a long countertop surrounding the sink (these were just two of the features I fell in love with when I was making my decision to buy here). The kitchen has beautiful cabinets and stainless steel appliances. The hard floors throughout the unit look really nice.
The people living in my building and the other buildings that make up Baker Square are friendly. Many people have dogs here, which is great for my pup. The patio on the river is a nice place to relax outside. The grounds and the interior of my building (common areas) are always well maintained. It’s nice having my own parking space and there are plenty of visitor spots available.
Lower Mills is a great neighborhood. I moved here from the South End and was worried I wouldn’t like the area as much here as I liked my old neighborhood, but I love it! We’re right on the river and there’s so much green space and many places to walk to. There are also fun restaurants nearby. If I need to get anywhere in the city by public transportation, the trolley going to Ashmont is very convenient.
I’m so glad I decided to buy a condo here!

We have lived at the Lofts at Lower Mills since Fall of 2011. We had sold our condo in a three-​unit triple decker and were curious to see if we would like living in a larger building so we decided to rent. Well, we loved it so much we bought our unit.
With regard to the previous review, I am somewhat surprised that this individual would stay for 5 years if they had such an awful experience. Certainly you could find units with lower rent in other developments. However, we have found the Lofts at Lower Mills worth the price.
The grounds are well maintained, as are the common spaces of the building. We have found the maintenance and cleaning staff to be top-​notch and incredibly helpful. As renters, maintenance work orders were quickly completed. You would be hard-​pressed to find better on-​site staff. Heck, they were helping us re-​direct our ceiling lights on Christmas Eve and they couldn’t have been more pleasant about it!
We have had a very different experience from the previous reviewer. We have never had issue with mold on the brick and we live on the river-​side of the building. The most we have had to do is cut away the ivy that sometimes grows over a corner of our window. The brick is gorgeous and it is what most people are drawn to when they enter our unit. As this was a factory before there are some nicks and dings but we feel that adds to the character of the unit. Also, we had a housing inspector go over the building (including the roof and the basement/​crawl space) and he remarked that he was incredibly impressed with the structure and its integrity, especially given its location next to and over a running body of water.
We have not been bothered by sound from other units. We never hear the neighbors on our floor. We used to have a couple with three young children above us and we would hear them occasionally but it did not bother us. It was far from loud and we only heard them when one of the kids would take a digger and cry. Having lived in a triple-​decker I know what it’s like to hear your neighbors and this is significantly better.
We did have an issue when we first moved in where we would find wood dust/​dirt in one spot. We called Winn and they fixed it immediately. The contractor explained to me it was from the original wood beams that are designed to expand and contract in their metal frame. Again, it was fixed in 15 minutes and never an issue again. We have not had the same dust and cement issues the previous reviewer had while she lived here.
I will agree the HVAC has been problematic. I think the condo association, to whom Winn (now Barkan) paid dues to when the building was not owner-​occupied, nickel-​and-​dimed the HVAC repairs for our building as we were «renters» in the Lofts at Lower Mills. Now that the building is converted and is owner-​occupied, with owners who will now serve on the condo association board, I am confident better representation will result in a better job addressing this issue. I should also add when we were without AC for a few hot days we would ask Winn to credit our rent and they did so quite willingly.
Overall we have found that with good communication we have been able to address any concerns we have had. We are realists and expect there to be issues that arise in any large building whether it is apartments or condos. Our issues have been minimal and when we shared our concerns with management, and now with our condo representatives, they have been addressed.
We have loved our living experience here which is why we chose to buy. Yes, the units are not inexpensive but we felt they were well worth the cost. We should note we are not the only renters who chose to buy. Lower Mills is such a wonderful community with so much to offer. You can walk to shops, the grocery store and restaurants. You are right on public transportation and adjacent to a fabulous bike path. The building is wonderful if you have pets as there is a DCR park right next to the Water Mill Building. Overall, the people who have moved in are polite and engaging but respectful of each others privacy.
We are thrilled that we were able to purchase our unit at the Lofts at Lower Mills and we have thoroughly enjoyed living in the building and in this neighborhood.