Review History for bellajgw

Loft 27


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bellajgw

Resident 2010 - 2013

7/7/2013

Lived here almost 3 years and, have to say, we've enjoyed it more than not. Warning - this is long! Pros: Fabulous staff who truly want you to enjoy your time here, quick maintenance people who are genuinely kind and helpful, huge apartments with tons of space and atmosphere, very close to the train and downtown area, reasonable prices for the space you are getting, full-size washers and dryers in units, gorgeous hardwood floors in some units. The appliances are of good quality, the tiles and carpets are good. The noise levels are reasonable for an apartment building. Cats, they allow you up to 2 cats per apartment and the fee is reasonable. Green - the loft is attempting to go as green as possible. There are solar panels on the roof, all the lights have special bulbs, and they have made some adjustments to the water system to use less. There is an amazing movie theater, half-basketball court, exercise room, and lounge area on the first floor. It's very nice and you can rent it for parties if you want. Cool, eh? Also, if you renew your lease in a timely manner the Loft offers you your choice of a free lounge area rental (usually $100) or a free carpet cleaning. We opted for the carpet cleaning (they did a great job). Gay Friendly - I am in a gay marriage, and my wife and I have been treated wonderfully and equally since moving in. We have also noticed many other gay couples in the building, as well as gay singles of both sexes. While I may not want to wonder the streets of Lowell at night, hand in hand with my wife, I feel totally secure in my building. Cons: SPIDERS!!! The windows are 17 feet high and if you face the river inlet you just have to accept that you will never be able to open your windows. The window tracts are infested with spiders of every shape and size. Maintenance has tried to do what they can, but they just keep coming back. (I recommend getting a long, telescoping pole to kill them)LOOOOOOOOOONG hallways. We live in some of the furthest apartments you can be in, from the front of the building, and there are days when you want someone to just install a moving sidewalk in there, or carry you to your door...makes moving very arduous. Parking...yes, you pay for a spot but you aren't paying for your "SPOT". You are paying for A spot in the parking lot. When they fill all apartments in the building there are NO parking spaces left and it can be difficult, but there is always at least 1 parking spot per person. If there are guests parked in the lot, and therefore no spaces left, call the tow truck company. Guests are not allowed to park in our parking lots...which can be a con if you invite people over. According to Management, they have decided not to fill all the apartments again, as they did this year, so that there will always be a few extra spots, just in case. Oh, and last but not least...the parades! Lowell has a few parades throughout the year and they ALL start and end on our street. So expect closed roads, lots of pedestrians, people parking in our lot despite saying they won't, port-a-potties on our sidewalk, and tons of trash (for about a day until they come to clean up). Management tries to give 48 hours notice of them, or more, but sometimes you don't find out until all the roads, save one, are blocked off. Now to address some of the bigger issues others have brought up. 1. Half-way house - Yes, there is a half-way house just a couple blocks away. If you are a woman, like myself, it can make you very nervous to know that there are recovering addicts and sex offenders that close by, but I have yet to have an issue with it. I just don't walk to the train, I drive. I have yet to see any drug deals go down in the neighborhood, and I am not some naive country-bumpkin. They also serve free food just across the street and around the corner. Both activities lend itself to a large amount of homeless in the downtown area. This can be a concern. But this is Lowell, people. This isn't Mayberry. Take the proper precautions, don't walk around with a designer purse, by yourself, at midnight, and you'll probably be fine. 2. Section 8 Housing - I do believe that the Loft does have a certain number of lower-income housing available, and occasionally you will see people in the building who are disrespectful, loud, littering, etc...but who is to say that it is due to the Section 8 housing people? We have had rude neighbors who drive BMWs and leave trash outside their apartment, bang on walls and scream at midnight, etc. Each and every rude encounter I have seen with people inside the Loft is usually due to both sides being quite rude. (We are not section 8 housing recipients, but I was once forced to live in low-income housing. Low-income does not always equal low-class. In this economy you're just as likely to see ex-executives and stock brokers on govt. assistance as the dead-beats who take advantage of the system. Stop being so judgmental.) 3. Security is Lacking - Yes, it is, but it is just as much the fault of the residents as anyone else. If you have a fob to get in and you allow everyone else behind you to get in without swiping their fob YOU are responsible for that. If you see the door propped open and no one is actively moving in? Close the door! We actually have a State Trooper who lives in the building with his family, so there is usually a police car parked in the parking lot. Police due patrol the area in their cars. I have seen them plenty of times. If you want more security you have to be willing to pay for it. We don't have a security desk and 24 hour observation. You understand that coming in. If you need that for your own sense of security, find another place and pay that security guard's salary. 4. Construction - Get over it! It's construction! It's a bustling, rebuilding town and there is some construction. Noise doesn't start until around 7-7:30am and ends around 5pm. It's really not that bad. You're going to get this anywhere you go. There is always construction, everywhere. If you want silence move to the country. 5. Garbage Rooms - Find me an apartment building that doesn't have the occasional thoughtless dumping of "illegal" or "unallowed" items, or overflowing front few cans and I will be shocked beyond belief. I live just a couple apartments down from our garbage room and there are occasional days that it smells a little in the hallway, but nothing horrible. People leave stuff just sitting on the floor sometimes, people overflow the barrels sometimes...but that happens in every apartment building. People are lazy. They try to get away with things they know they shouldn't. It happens. Most of the time it isn't bad at all. Overall I would recommend Loft 27 because all the Pros outweigh the Cons. The only reason we plan to move is that we want to buy a house and the commute into Boston and Cambridge is getting a bit long for us as we get older. Loft 27, we love you guys!

    Review 19 out of 30

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    Loft 27

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