Awards Received:

• Boston Design Council
  Design Award

Built in 1814, the Francis Cabot Lowell Mill, located on the Charles River in Waltham, Massachusetts, operated as one of the first mechanized producers of cotton textiles in the United States. The renovation of this historic building into elderly apartments was one of the first and largest examples of mill reuse in the Commonwealth.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the growth of the textile industry required the construction of accessory structures. As a result, Lowell Mill consisted of a complex of buildings, most of which had recently housed light industries or served as warehouses. The imposing mill building and its surrounding buildings, which wind around the river bank and are part of a Metropolitan District Commission park are designated as a National Landmark.

The renovation into apartments for the elderly - including studios and one-and two-bedroom units - was completed in two phases. The renovation began with the gutting of two adjacent buildings and restoring a former boiler house for use as a museum to exhibit the industrial history of the Lowell area. Other, more recent buildings were demolished, and their brick reused for exterior repairs. Wherever possible, exposed brickwork, columns and beams were retained. A unique circular wooden stairway in the main tower of one building was refurbished to become one of the new complex's central features.

Photos by James Higgins