Piano Craft Guild - Historic South End Living
Built in 1854 by Chickering and Sons as a piano factory, Piano Craft Guild is now the site of 177 unique loft apartments. Piano Craft Guild was turned into apartments in the late 1970s and still has some original residents! As a full service apartment building, there’s a concierge, a community area, conference room and soon-to-be indoor pool and fitness area. Historically, this has been an artist’s haven. Many artists still live in the building and there’s actually a gallery on the first floor that’s open to the public. Something I found very interesting, is that tenants are encouraged to paint their doors in any way they see fit. Some were covered with bumper stickers, landscapes and geometric patterns.
It’s located in the South End, right off Mass Ave at 791 Tremont St. Being off Mass Ave, it’s relatively close to the green line and the orange line. The South End in general is more accessible by bus, but I do not know how the buses work. The South End is the newest up and coming neighborhood in Boston. It’s my go-to place for good food. Toro, Coppa, Stella, Kitchen, and Picco are a few of my favorite spots. You didn’t hear it from me, but word on the street is Jamie Bissonette, co-owner of Toro and Coppa, used to live in Piano Craft Guild.
The apartments range from studio, to three bedrooms up to 1900 square feet. There’s a lot of variety at this place. The first apartment I saw was not my favorite, and I sighed in relief when the woman showing me around said every apartment was unique. Here’s my warning: avoid the ground floor. Ground floor units, or units that include a ground floor level have wall to wall carpet, and potentially limited light. The first unit was considered a studio, because neither bedroom had a door. Neither bedroom had a door because there were no windows. Although, one bedroom did have a sink.
The interesting thing here is that the next studio we looked at was the complete opposite. Very high ceilings, lacquered original wood floor, expansive windows letting in a great deal of natural light. The kitchen was pretty good too. A standard galley kitchen with lots of storage. It could’ve done with an island, but that can always be added. There is an actual loft above the updated bathroom. Outside the bathroom was a rack for hanging clothes and there were 2 large armoires on wheels.
On the whole, there are some great apartments. The building is pretty cool, it could do with some updating. Luckily, that’s happening now. Unfortunately, they’re not done yet.
The parking here is not ideal, but it is better than nothing. There are 55 unassigned spaces. That sounds good, but there are 177 units to split those between. Cars need to be moved every 3 days.
There’s a concierge on site from 7am to 11pm. They deal with packages and maintenance for the most part.
There is a communal laundry room on site, however I believe most of the 3 bedroom units come with the washer/dryer hook-ups.
All utilities are included, with the exception of cable and internet. There is no central air, however if you purchase an air conditioner, maintenance will install it. There’s a one time fee to set up an air conditioner.
This apartment is currently being offered at $2,800/month. Fees and rent are subject to change.