The Rockwell Apartments — Attraction in Berlin

My wife and I just moved to The Rockwell from FL at the very end of September 2020. Being far away from MA during the COVID-19 pandemic certainly posed some challenges when we decided to move back, but Bella and the team made it as painless as possible. From bringing us on a virtual tour (via Facetime) through the available apartments to stepping us through the application process, Bella was instrumental in helping us feel less stressed about our relocation.

Now that we've been here for just over a week I have to say that the maintenance and grounds crew here, as well as everyone in the office are super nice to deal with and very attentive to the residents' needs. We had a few minor issues with our place upon move-in that the team took care of with incredible quickness and professionalism all around. The apartment is wonderful - especially since it's brand new - and spacious. The amenities at the The Rockwell are great and very well kept up. While construction is still going on here to wrap up the remaining buildings and grounds build out, the interruptions are minimal - in fact most times you don't even know work is going on.

So far everyone we've met (residents included) seems nice...always a "hi" when you pass by or meet them in the common areas. People keep their balcony's/patios clean and for the amount of dogs that reside here, you'd never know it. Everyone picks up after their pets and you rarely hear any barking. With the exception of a couple of vehicles with loud exhaust, there is virtually nothing to disturb the beautiful natural surroundings here. Seems to be family friendly as well as there are several families that live here with kids ranging from infants/toddlers to school age - and all enjoy playing at the various grassy areas and playground on-site. While we don't have anyone living above us yet and cannot judge the sound protection between units, the buildings are very well constructed and seem to have good insulation. So we're optimistic that noise transmission between units will be minimal.

While the rent may seem on the high side to those looking for a place to rent, we feel that - at least so far - you get what you pay for. Everything is brand new, the location is great - safe, quiet, yet close to everything - the amenities are great, and the staff is great. You could save a couple of hundred bucks going elsewhere probably, but I doubt you'd reap the benefits you get at The Rockwell.

I'm hoping this will be a place we can call "home" for many years to come. One of the concerns we have is regarding what renewal rates will look like next year, but we're hopeful and optimistic that loyalty will win out and the management company will make it attractive for existing residents to renew. But we'll see...that's a year down the road. For now we're just enjoying our new home and all it has to offer.

Big shout out to Bella, Elizabeth, and the rest of the staff who've gone out of their way to make sure we're settled...

The apartments are ok. I don’t have any complaints about them. Management isn’t so good. They decided not to renew my lease because the apartment was messy a few times. That’s fine. Totally within their rights. They gave me a deadline two months in advance where I had to say I was going to vacate my apartment or they were going to start the eviction process. At this time I did not know the reason and wanted to try and resolve the issue rather than move. None of my emails were answered so I couldn’t resolve anything before the deadline that they set. When I reassured them that I wasn’t going to overstay my lease but wasn’t ready to say I would vacate because I was hoping to resolve whatever issue, they terminated my lease and gave me only 31 days to move rather than the end of my lease. My issue, is I’m a single mom of two young girls and in a low income unit so it’s really hard to find a place in such short notice. I was hoping to just talk to someone but I was just ignored. Now, just for trying to talk before giving up our only home and becoming homeless, my lease was terminated. On top of that, they’re now charging me their legal fees! I don’t owe money for rent and I tried my best to be a good tenant and neighbor and they’re treating me like a criminal before my lease is even up! Not to mention the fact that they came into my apartment without notification or telling me after the fact not once, but twice! Good thing I wasn’t home because I don’t answer the door when I’m not expecting anyone and I rarely wear pants. Now I don’t even feel like I can be comfortable in this apartment for the little bit of time I have left. Editing to say that I’m not arguing the non renewal. I am talking about terminating my lease early and charging me your lawyer fees when I did nothing to deserve it. I’m not even arguing the lease violation because as a single mom I do get behind so the place does get messy sometimes. The way I’m being treated even before my lease is expired is what I’m talking about. The noise violation was my cat running around at night. There isn’t much I can do about that other than play with him more during the day which...

I lived at The Rockwell for two years. While the unit itself was fine, there were a number of recurring issues—and my experience after moving out was incredibly disappointing.

To start with, the property was consistently poorly maintained, especially the outdoor areas. Dog waste was left all over the grounds with little to no cleanup, and management didn’t seem interested in enforcing any standards. I also had many items stolen in front of my apartment (forget Instacart for groceries - the groceries would be stolen). My partner told management about this issue.

But the biggest problem came after I moved out on January 24, 2025. I didn’t hear a single thing about my security deposit for over 80 days—no communication, no notice, nothing. When I finally reached out to follow up, I was told I owed them almost $1,000, even though I left the apartment in good condition and was told by my partner shortly after my move-out that the apartment had already been re-leased.

Even more frustrating: when I looked into it, I found that they had re-listed my apartment at a 42% increase over the rent I was paying. Massachusetts law requires landlords to make a reasonable effort to re-rent an apartment when a tenant leaves early—but pricing it far above my rental rate is not reasonable. I fully understand that rent can increase when a lease expires, but this hike happened while they were supposedly trying to re-rent under my lease term. That’s not good-faith mitigation—it’s a way to hold former tenants accountable for their own failure to rent an overpriced unit.

After two years of being a respectful, on-time tenant, I expected transparency, basic communication, and professionalism. Unfortunately, what I got was the...