Piano Craft Guild

We moved out after living at Piano Craft for two years. The majority of my 2 star review is a result of the noise, which they weren’t transparent about before we signed our lease (and is consistent with nearly every other review). It was an issue for us from day one. Our apartment was on Tremont street, so you listen to a constant stream of sirens. When we weren’t listening to sirens, we heard pretty much everything our neighbors next door were doing… including the more intimate moments of their day. When the child above us began walking we had enough and began looking for a new place. Due to the lack of insulation in between floors, a 20 lb. toddler sounded like a 400 pound man. I wish I was exaggerating. There are other issues to consider before you move in:
NOISE: Again, extremely loud. Street noise (loudest in summer months), college kids running down the hallways at 1am drunk, neighbors walking /​stomping, construction noise from the constant building projects just to name a few. If you live under a child, best of luck maintaining your sanity. Yes, community living means you’ll hear your neighbors. However, you shouldn’t feel like you’re living with them.
RODENTS: The last 3 months of our lease, multiple mice took up residence in between us and our next door neighbors and made their way into our ceiling and kitchen through a poorly insulated pipe opening in a wall. However, the bigger issue was the moths. Our closet turned out to be completely infested. By the time we realized it, we had to toss several wool pants, sweaters (apparently moths eat cashmere), and silk blouses all which had been eaten.
SAFETY: During our residence, there were 2 murders within a one block radius (one on Columbus and Camden, the other on Tremont and Camden). We woke up to 20 gunshots at around 2am for the first. This building borders Roxbury and as a result the crime and unsavory activity definitely spills over until you reach Mass Ave. We never felt safe walking home after 11pm on any given night. Something to think about if you’re a female especially. While the building is supposed to be secure, there were many instances where emergency exit doors were broken /​didn’t lock and cameras weren’t working for weeks. Our car was broken into while in the lot prior to the gate being installed. This was a huge reason we moved out of the area.
The pros are that the building is getting a major overhaul (however, there is a lot of noise that comes with that), they’re adding amenities all the time and you won’t find this type of open space anywhere else in Boston for the price. There is a laundry room, business center, game room and gym going in. Amenities are nice, however, I would encourage anyone considering this place to be honest with yourself about the type of experience you’re looking for. If you are someone who likes a quiet, peaceful home… this is most definitely not the place for you. If an open, updated space is your priority, this may be your new home.

I VERY MUCH regret moving into this sh*thole. It looks like a 90s dorm in the halls. It smells like a bar — every single night I smell my neighbors smoking coming through the vent. It sounds like a brothel since the paper thin walls don’t block out much. Plus I’m pretty sure the upstairs neighbor lives in stilettos. Management is unresponsive and occasionally just rude. Do not live here.

Prior to living in the Piano Craft Guild (a.k.a. the «Piano Factory»), I moved apartments every year, always seeking bigger and better. I moved into the Piano Factory in Aug 2007, and stayed until July 2014; only moving due to career-​related factors. I wanted to put out there a narrative that comes from someone who can provide first-​hand insights, as opposed to from a realtor who has a personal vested interest as to whether you move in.
History:
As the name might give away, this place was a factory for pianos, in the 1850’s, and at one point held the title of being the second largest building in the country (the first largest being the capital building). In the 1970’s in was converted to residential lofts.
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Building & amenities:
There’s a laundry room and it was rare that I ever had to wait for an available washing machine or dryer.
Residents’ parking lot has around 50 spots, with dedicated parking for motorcycles and scooters.
The courtyard in the middle of the building has grass, trees, park benches, lawn furniture, and charcoal grills. (To give a sense of scale, the building is a horseshoe that’s a block wide and a block long — the courtyard is the middle of the horseshoe.) For me, this acted as a perfect place to set up my tents after camping trips in order to air them out, and I was also fond of throwing up a hammock and spending the occasional lazy Sunday afternoon reading my Kindle.
Elevators were convenient when I would get back from grocery shopping and was bogged down with bags.
The building community boasts a fair number of artists. Enough, in fact, that there’s a tenant artists’ gallery in the building, which is featured each year in the South End Open Studios tour.
A «black box» theatre (i.e. a small, intimate theatre) is around the back of the building, with different performance runs every other month or so. (While the gallery is tenant run, the theatre is not. It’s its own entity separate from the residential portion of building.)
There’s a community room that’s available for tenants to use; sign the key out, and it’s yours to do with what you please: band practice, yoga with friends, relieve stress with interpretive dance, etc…
A cargo loading dock, freight elevator, and PCG rolling dollies, combined with wide hallways and large doors means that moving in/​out couldn’t be more easy.
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The units themselves:
When they divvied up the space and converted to lofts, it was the opposite of «cookie cutting». All units vary slightly in size and shape, and I’m pretty sure that no two are identical. Doors leading into the apartments are big (3′ x 10′), the units have hardwood floors, and large windows. My ceilings were high enough that I was able to install a projector and a 100″ screen, which acted as my TV. I believe there are other units with even taller ceilings (like 20′ tall. Like you-​could-​install-​a-​trampoline tall*). I installed bike rack hooks and hung my bicycle from a beam, up, overhead, and out of the way.
(*Though I’ve never checked, I suspect trampoline installation may be a no-​no.)
Exposed brick and beam is the norm.
My kitchen had a dishwasher and garbage disposal, and water pressure was good. Water, electric, and heat were included in my rent.
A wide and deep storage nook above my bathroom afforded me plenty of storage space. There are storage units available for rent if you’ve really got a ton of stuff to store.
I didn’t have noise issues w/​neighbors. Sometimes the folks next to me would have get togethers, and yes, I could hear the fact that music was playing, but sound insulation was sufficient that I couldn’t make out individual words, and said noise didn’t prevent me from falling asleep, nor did it wake me up.
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Cons («First World Problems»):
Laundry room is open from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm; is not open 24/​day.
The elevator is very convenient if you live on an upper floor (4^th, 5^th) and you have a packages to bring upstairs. However, it’s not the fastest elevator in the world.
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Management & staff:
Management’s office is in the building, they’re on site during business hours, and their door was always open. From the evening until the next morning, there’s a security guard on duty. This translates to having someone available ²⁴⁄₇ to assist with any issues that arise (like if you lock yourself out), and also means that there is always someone available to sign for your deliveries. (Much more convenient than having purchases delivered to the work place.)
Any issues I had were resolved promptly. For example, I managed to clog my garbage disposal one night, and I called the next day from work on my lunch break to report it. When I got home that evening, it had been fixed.
They organize an annual summer BBQ in the courtyard, with music/​food/​drink, which was always a great way to meet new neighbors and to reconnect with current ones.
In conclusion:
Bummed to be leaving. Would live here again if the opportunity presents itself.

My husband and I lived here for one year, and we were SOOOO happy the day we moved out. The apartment space is really unique, and we loved the hard-​wood floors and new appliances. There were no bugs or mice, and we felt very safe with the security guard. Furthermore, parking was always easy between the lot behind the building and street parking. Utilities are included which was especially sweet during the summer months.
The absolute downside is the NOISE!!! I cannot stress this enough. The floors provided absolutely NO barrier between apartments. We could hear our neighbors upstairs, even when they were being very considerate. Sound travels so well, we felt like we could easily take part in their conversations. At night, I would use a noise machine, which helped greatly.
This, of course, meant that our neighbor downstairs could hear us as well. He was an extremely classy individual that would use a broom to violently pound on the ceiling any time he felt we were being too loud. Meaning, when our 12 lb cats would run in the apartment, or when some apples accidentally rolled out of the fridge, or when a 2 yr old niece was visiting on a Saturday afternoon and laughing. He would constantly call the security guard to complain, and when they would knock on our door and realize we weren’t making any unavoidable noise, they would apologize. Management attempted to intervene, however, he continued to harass us throughout the year. Needless to say, it was quite stressful, and embarrassing whenever we had guests or family visiting.
SO USE CAUTION if you’re thinking about signing a lease. I suggest visiting during the evening, so you can get a feel for your neighbors. They are quite sneaky and only let us view the apartment during the daytime… when everyone is out of the building at work. And hopefully you do not pick an apartment above a troll.

My husband and I loved living here for a year – the character of the building, laundry, and the parking lot in the back were my personal favorites. A parking spot is not guaranteed, but we don’t drive often so our we usually were able to leave it back there. We also loved being close to the orange line.
We would have renewed our lease, but we felt the rent was a little more than it should be. We had a duplex, which was more space than we needed, and the rent was being raised to about $ 2900/​month. Utilities are included, but it was still more than we wanted to pay.
Management is great. I do wish they would have used an email system to send out information and notices instead of all the paper flyers. They were always very accommodating and responded to our emails whenever we had questions.
We love Chris, the security guard. He would get our packages when he saw us coming and was always so friendly. We’ll miss him!
The annual summer party was really fun – Cookie Monstah and burger food trucks, band, photo booth. Great time.
We didn’t have any bug/​mice/​roach problems at all, as mentioned in previous posts.
Dislikes:
1) The elevator! It is unbearably slow and for a building of the size of PCG, one elevator is not enough (excluding the freight elevators, used for moving) and I think it should be first priority to fix the speed of it.
2) The shady people who come out at night. We always felt safe in our building (need a fob to get in, security 5p-​8a, being on the 5^th floor), but it’s definitely not a great area at night. We usually took cabs home if we were going to be out late (rather than the T, which is about two blocks away).
3) Inconsiderate neighbors. The walls are VERY thin, which should be very apparent to everyone, so it’s frustrating living next to those who aren’t as courteous. We quickly figured out that the neighbor next to us is a single father because his kids would wake us up with their playing and screaming at 7−730a every other Saturday. Ridiculous. The other neighbors, who just moved in, sing loudly throughout the day (and felt it was appropriate to hammer at 130a the day they moved in). So, if you move here, be respectful. Seems pretty obvious though.

We had a great 1.5 yrs living in this unique and fun place.
The apartments: Clean, beautiful, spacious, all new appliances. Soundproof, well built, and our apt (E405) had beautiful views and more sunlight than we knew what to do with.
The value: all utilities included, reasonable rent.
The location: walking distance to the green & orange lines, steps from cafes and restaurants of the South End
The building: we never took advantage of the art & theater stuff as we should have. The courtyard is awesome and we BBQ’d there every weekend in summer. We parked our car and motorcycle in the parking lot with no problems ever (street parking as option as well).
The management: Always very friendly, very responsive. Maintenance super-​timely. Ever vigilant security guards to watch over us, haha.
Best part, go talk to the mgt directly, see the model apartment, and skip all the brokers and brokers fees. Best $$$ value ever.

We had a great 2 years living at the Piano Craft Guild. Sure, it has its quirks which mostly boils down to living around other quirky people, but in all it was a great place to live.
Maintenance was always very responsive, and polite, and even helped change a flat tire on our car for my wife when I was out of town. Security was gracious and polite, even helpful when we were trying to figure out who was smoking copious amounts of weed that would filter through the old walls into our toddler’s bedroom. It took some time but the smoke eventually stopped.
Management was always cool and understanding. We never had any issue with them even when it would have been easy for them to have an issue with us for one reason or another (noisy toddler in the house!). They were always open to dialogue, which we appreciated.
At one point we had VERY noisy upstairs neighbors, which we just had to get used to, but we knew what we were in for when we moved into such a large building: Living in close proximity to all types of people. You hear them, you smell them, and sometimes you see them, but in all we have very few issues with neighbors on our floor or around us and when we did, management and security were more than happy to help.
Great location, parking lot (first come first serve), loading dock (amazing for move-​in-​move-​out day), huge courtyard park in the center of the building (very child friendly), and a laundry room on the basement level. Storage is available for $ 50 a month.
We quite miss the location, and the familiar faces. After a solid month of looking for a place for our family to live, I’m glad we ended up at the PCG.

We miss you W305!
My fiancé and I lived at the Piano Craft Guild for a year. A way too short year. We loved the place and can’t say enough good about it. Due to our extensive traveling, we moved from our apartment into an RV full-​time. But the Guild was a wonderful experience.
Other reviewers must not have lived in cities before… cities are noisy and there are bad elements and parking difficulties everywhere. If you live in a large city, you have to be smart… it’s that simple. You take precautions and live in safe places. Noise happens… you get used to it. =)
We never felt unsafe in the Guild… ever. There is 24 hour security, locks on the doors, and no one gets passed the awesome security guards. (We miss you, Boyd!) Packages get delivered to you whether you’re home or not and all utilities (minus cable) are included.
There’s a first come-​first served parking lot that is convenient and when you can’t get in there, a simple resident parking sticker gets you street spaces. The neighborhood is on the upswing with rennovation projects and new businesses moving in (Miss you Parish Café!), so it’s not the bad side of the some reviewers are making it out to be.
The Guild building is amazing, dating back to 1823! The hardwood floors are amazing and well-​kept. The exposed brick is charming and the space was perfect for our needs. It’s mainly a community of artists, which was great for us since we’re an author and photographer. We knew so many of our neighbors and felt like we were part of a community. They even let you decorate your front door any way you please. Ours certainly turned heads! LOL!
Simba, Deneen and Jen were wonderful to work with — always friendly and helpful and were very sad to see us leave. We were sad to leave them too and remember our time there very fondly.
Considering it was a 1,200-ish sq ft apartment in downtown Boston (South End), the rent was extraordinary… all utilities, plus parking, security, mail, laundry (you have to pay, of course), events, a courtyard, the chance to garden, close to the Orange and Green lines, etc.
We would move back there in an instant! If you’re looking for that perfect city apartment experience… surrounded by nice people, look no further than the Guild.

I’ve lived at the PCG for the better part of this year, and I’m sorry to say that this place absolutely blows.
My place was left in a shambles by the previous tenant. It had not been cleaned when I moved in; the kitchen was a dysfunctional assemblage of wonky drawers, holey cabinets, and outdated, dinged-​up appliances; and the walls were straight ghetto, with spackle bits all over the place. After a bunch of lip service, nothing has changed, except that I now also have a mouse problem. The jokers who run the place have acres of smiles and excuses to match.
Parking in the neighborhood sucks, and although there’s a first-​come-​first-​served lot associated with the building, there are often no spots available.
What does this place do well? They’re great at saying «no» and improvising rules. They had a pretty fun barbeque over the summer. The security people and live-​in maintenance people are really helpful, and it’s easy to get mail-​ordered things delivered. But otherwise, I wouldn’t pee on this place if it were on fire.
Other people I know in the building have had more positive experiences, so your mileage may vary. Be extremely wary of the side of the building facing Northhampton – the street noise is damn near unbearable, especially with the construction currently underway.
Do yourself a favor and avoid this poorly managed, loud-​as-​hell mess.

Ok after having lived here for a year, I think Jared G’s review is, to put it kindly, nonsense. I think he must be embittered or have an axe to grind or something.
Yes, sound travels. Otherwise, I’ve lived here 1 year and counting and have seen no hookers in the hallways, no bodies in the lobby, heard no gunshots, neither my purse or my car has been jacked, management has been completely transparent and helpful, security has been great.
I’ve realized that it is a faster walk into the city than I initially realized, the natural light in my unit is fantastic, I love the parties management throws, I love the art gallery, I LOVE the community room.
it’s great.

One of the most ridiculous apartment experiences I’ve had. During the time I lived here …
It took them about 6 – 8 months to fix the main elevator and when they finally did … someone defecated in it (seriously). The management can be rude and unhelpful. The walls are paper thin, so you can hear everything — even through the floors. There were problems with bugs and mice.
The location is convenient, but can be a little sketchy. I was mugged about a block away and I witnessed someone shot on the sidewalk directly in front of the main entranceway (July, 4^th 07). Not the safest place in the city.

I lived here for two years and it was the best living experience I’ve had to date. Granted I currently live with roommates, who have a combined age of 172.
As the name of the building suggests it was an old piano craft factory that was converted into apartments in the gentrified South End of Boston. Originally it housed musicians, artists, and afforded low income housing to individuals and families. However, the management company has lifted such restrictions and now rents many apartments out for fair market value. It’s difficult to live here if you are a student, they have limits on the number of students they let into the building and put you through a rigorous credit check to discourage the Animal House lifestyle that accompanies college students, and remain close to its artistic roots.
Despite the tedious application process, the living in this building was great. Residents have access to laundry in the building, an outdoor courtyard and a place to park a vehicle (on first come, first served basis). The utilities were included and the only thing we had to pay for was the cable and internet. The on-​site security guards were great as well, always friendly and hardly the deterrent, they ensured I would receive all my packages that were sent to my apartment.
The population of tenants is quite diverse and the great part is that your space is your space, as long as it returns to its original state upon moving out. It isn’t uncommon to walk the halls to see people have painted their doors.
I really couldn’t beat the price of living here with everything included and it was extremely convenient to the Mass. Ave. T-​stop, campus, liquor stores, bars, and other South End attractions.
I can’t say enough about the management team. Simba, Deneen and the maintenance crew were completely underrated.
The duplex apartments are amazingly spacious (as I had friends on the bottom floors, but didn’t make it to the top floor duplexes).
I miss you W118. If I ever move back to Boston I know that I will at least look to live here.