Along the Chicopee River in Ludlow, Mass., sits a 170-acre mill complex, once holding numerous bustling buildings manufacturing yarn, twine, linen textiles, and grain bags from jute fibers, production that was responsible for much of the town’s housing, jobs, and economic activity. Today, the site’s 110-year-old Mill 10 building offers affordable homes to residents age 55 or over.
Boston-based WinnDevelopment transformed the four-story, 108,163-square-foot brick Ludlow Mill 10 building from a manufacturing space to 75 new one- and two-bedroom apartment units in a $19.3 million renovation. The company restored the exterior brick work; installed new, insulated floor-to-ceiling windows in many of the units; and refinished the mill’s original beams and interior brick to be exposed for an industrial design aesthetic.
Of the 75 units—63 one-bedrooms and 12 two-bedrooms—51 are reserved for households with incomes at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI); 15 are restricted to households with incomes at or below 30% of the AMI, eight of which qualify as project-based subsidized housing; and nine units provide market-rate housing.
The project features community spaces and common areas on each floor, a fitness center, laundry facilities, a resident lounge, parking, a resident reading nook, and a computer lounge—plus, the property hosts a number of social events for residents. The development sits adjacent to the Riverwalk on the Chicopee River, where residents can access walking and biking trails, and is located a short distance from small manufacturing and design businesses, a microbrewery, and a rehabilitation hospital.
The renovation of the Mill 10 building is part of a larger redevelopment of the Ludlow Mill complex, which will also include commercial, retail, and office space.
