If you are reading this, then you must be interested in a loft and consequently loft living. If so?don?t take the majority of complaints on this site to heart. Many of these negative summaries seem to be written by people who expect the benefits of living in a cookie-cutter apartment (thick walls, brand new construction, and all the other shelters of the suburbs) but on top of that they still want the charm and heritage of a place with such awesome history such as MLK JR., himself, working here as a boy.

As someone who walks the half block to the MLK MARTA station twice a day, I have at no time felt unsafe. Put on your street smarts and you will be fine. If you want to live in the city, you have to do so anywhere.

My loft has an amazing floor plan with the highest of ceilings, and great exposed brick. The kitchen appliances are envied by everyone and anyone. Coming from Tallahassee, my utility bills are now a mere fourth of what I was used to. So everything is relative. This building pre-dates the Burning of Atlanta? so yes the noise can carry from neighbors, but that is an aspect of loft-living.

The CSX rail line is located nearby and my loft faces directly towards the tracks. The noises are definitely not to the point where you cannot sleep at night. Just like any new setting, it will take time (a few days) to adjust to it. The people who cannot deal with this, should never try to take on the wake-ups of a new born baby, as I expect they will try to find a web-blog to warn others of the how their sleepless nights have ruined their lives and that no one should have a baby. Again, I reiterate this is loft living. You will get these noises anywhere in the city. Try living on Peachtree Street with the sounds of thumping car stereos passing by at 2 MPH at 2am every night, and then try to complain about a train or two a month.

Safety issue: Case and point? this is Atlanta. And, the lofts are located in downtown. If you are moving to Atlanta, expect a certain level of crime anywhere?or if you are a current Atlanta resident looking to simply move to a loft, you already know that fact. This is not the loft?s problem, so please don?t cry to them. Cry to your local representative, police force, sheriff, etc. Mattress Factory Lofts has been nothing but proactive regarding this issue and we ALL receive notices when a crime has been committed to one of the tenants. There are gates and coded door entries. Living in Atlanta, you will need a car-alarm anyways so invest in one. And don't worry it happens like once every two months at the very most. Again, this happens anywhere in Atl.

Michael is the ONLY property manager that I?ve had that knew my name and said hello (him being the seventh property manager I've had). Which is not really a feature, but it?s nice to know he has a grasp on who is who. As for maintenance, I am happy to report that I have nothing to report. Never had a problem with the place. In marketing, we say a person who receives a negative experience will ten people, whereas a person who receives a positive experience will only tell three people. Well, just because there are a lot of people complaining about maintenance on here, doesn?t mean we are all experiencing it. This place is huge, making the percent of complaints on this page about 1% of possible tenants. That?s pretty awesome in my book.

Nearby you will a couple of Atlanta?s best kept secret restaurants. Well not so well kept anymore. Six Feet Under, local pub/fish and chips joint, always has an overflowing parking lot. Agave, local unique southwestern food and Atlanta?s best margaritas, will only disappoint someone allergic to salsa.

I guess I am writing this to simply warn you. If you WANT LOFT LIVING then this is the place to get started doing so, but if you expect the qualities of a place in the SUBURBS, please don?t move here. Because if you do, then I?ll have to put up with whiny neighbors who deserve the hour-commute times from the burbs.

User Responses
From: MaryJeanH	Date: 12/29/2005
great post. This should be posted in every loft property. We are going to move into Cotton Mill Lofts in March and I am taking your words to heart, knowing what we are getting into. I agree with you about crime, dogs, and noise...it's the big city. Now I just have to find out if I can take it :-) Thank you for a balanced well thought statement.
From: kimber81	Date: 02/06/2006
Several of the posts on this site mention bad smells from the salad dressing factory. Can anyone attest to the extent of this problem in phase one?
From: stellaluna1984	Date: 02/20/2006
I think the salad dressing factory smells great, who doesnt like Pesto? And I agree, Michael is fantastic, he knows everyones name and what they do and seems legitimatly interested in his job, unlike most rental managers.
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/07/2007
I agree about michael and the management staff here. Very nice. etc. I suppose as you get older your expectations even in the city go up. If you live/work in your unit issues are magnified as you are mostly here day night and get more of a sense for the issues. The smell complaints should be addressed to the constant overflow of garbage rotting in the summer sun next to the pool. If the reviewer goes to Marta every day, he has to have seen this. Yet for some reason it isn't mentioned. Is this part of city life and is it whining for this health hazard to be resolved? As I walk the halls I am grateful to not be next door to many of the sounds coming from the units. My neighbors are nice except upstairs. The windows in my unit are 6' by 10' . They are original factory windows, whcih is great but with them being single pane and so large, well noise is an issue. I do love the building features in phase one except for the noise from outside. If anyone is walking outside and having a cell conversation, I can hear every detail. If a group is outside having a party, get a hotel room. The windows have blinds but you never really feel any privacy at night due to the gaps etc. Except for top floor units if you want privacy the blinds must be closed always. The windows are not an asset unless you are an exhibitionist or have a top floor unit. The staff here is great but as with anywhere your expectations of a quiet home/work area often collide with inconsiderate neighbors. I do not agree with the tone of the reviewer. It is not too much to ask anywhere to have peace and quiet as much is possible. When a bus or train goes by, that is not an issue. When neighbors play loud music in the parking lot as they come in, or throw loud parties and refuse to tone it down late at night, that is not whining. I don't take marta, I have a nice car, and have certain reasonable expectations of my neighbors. I expect more I guess than the reviewer. I love the bulding and management. People are people.

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