484 Merrimack Street · Downtown Lowell, Massachusetts
A landmark 1912 building — fully reimagined. Exposed brick, 10-foot ceilings, and a rooftop deck with views across Downtown Lowell. Now leasing one-bedrooms and studios.
Now Leasing
Every unit combines the character of a historic building — exposed brick, generous ceiling heights, original architectural details — with the conveniences of a fully modern home.
One-Bedroom
From $2,100
per month
Studio
From $1,750
per month
“A building that is both genuinely old and genuinely new — the bones of history, the comforts of modern living.”
Included in Every Residence
In-Unit Washer/Dryer
Full-size, in every unit — no shared laundry room.
Exposed Brick
Original 1912 masonry — the real thing, not a veneer.
10-Foot Ceilings
Generous ceiling heights throughout the building.
Rooftop Deck
Panoramic views over Downtown Lowell's skyline.
Resident Gym
Fully equipped fitness space in the building.
Co-Working Space
A quiet place to work without leaving home.
The Rooftop Deck
There are rooftop views, and then there's this one. The Merrimack River to the north. Holy Trinity's golden dome catching the last light of the afternoon. St. Patrick's gothic spire against the sky. Downtown Lowell laid out below you. A reminder, every time you step outside, of exactly where you live.
Holy Trinity Church
The iconic gold dome visible from the rooftop deck
St. Patrick's Church
The historic spire rising above the Acre neighborhood
Downtown Lowell
City Hall, the canal district, and the Merrimack River
Ground Floor
“Most buildings have a coffee machine in the lobby. You have Sophia's Greek Pantry.”
Sophia's Greek Pantry is well known throughout Massachusetts — a woman- and immigrant-owned market specializing in authentic Greek staples, with an established shop in Belmont and a loyal following that stretches well beyond the neighborhood. At The Royal, Sophia's is coming home to Lowell in a space built around her from the ground up.
The ground floor has been custom-designed for the market — exposed brick walls, 11-foot ceilings, and a historically accurate 1915 storefront restoration that gives Sophia's the presence it deserves on Merrimack Street. Alongside the market, Sophia's is opening a new café and counter, serving gyros, mezze, and fresh Greek specialties made to order.
Sophia's
Greek Pantry
Ground Floor · 484 Merrimack St
Authentic Greek Market
Imported staples, pantry essentials, and specialty goods — the same quality that built Sophia's reputation across Massachusetts.
New Café & Counter
Gyros, mezze, and fresh Greek specialties prepared to order — a full café experience opening alongside the market.
Ground Floor · 484 Merrimack St
The Building
484 Merrimack Street is a fine example of Colonial Revival architecture, built in 1915 with a robust steel frame, a masonry exterior, and a façade of glazed tan brick in decorative patterns. Its two three-story oriel windows clad in sheet metal and its original oak front door give the building a presence no new construction could replicate.
For over 30 years it sat vacant and condemned. When we purchased it, the interior had essentially collapsed, leaving only the four-story brick shell. We erected custom rakers to brace the masonry, rebuilt the entire interior structure from inside the historic shell, and underpinned the whole building when we found the foundation sitting on silt.
The restoration returned the building to its original splendor: repointed brick, restored metal bay windows, historically accurate windows and doors, and a ground-floor storefront faithfully recreated from original 1915 photographs — a building both genuinely old and genuinely new.
The Royal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, within the Lowell National Historical Park and the Downtown Lowell Historic District.
1915
Year constructed
30+
Years vacant & condemned
110
Years of history preserved
24
New homes downtown
Colonial Revival · 1915
Glazed Tan Brick Façade
Decorative patterned masonry at the street front, original to 1915 — repointed and restored to its full expression.
Three-Story Oriel Windows
Two dramatic bay windows clad in sheet metal rise the full height of the building — a signature Colonial Revival detail that defines its rhythm on Merrimack Street.
Original Oak Front Door
The original oak entry door — over a century old — has been preserved and restored as the entrance to The Royal.
Historic Storefront Restored
The ground-floor storefront has been rebuilt from original 1915 photographs, true to every detail of the building's commercial façade.
Steel Frame Construction
The building's robust 1915 steel frame — rare for its era — kept the four-story shell standing through decades of vacancy, and forms the backbone of the restored building today.
Lowell Skyline
Step onto the rooftop and take in one of Lowell's most distinctive skylines — the gold dome of Holy Trinity Church, the spire of St. Patrick's, and the full sweep of Downtown.
A Lowell Story
Jack Kerouac grew up in Lowell. As a kid, the Royal Theater — which once stood on the lot behind this building — was where he went to lose himself. He described its interior in such precise detail in The Town and the City that you can still picture every inch of it today.
The theater is gone. But its granite foundation walls remain. We've made them the walls of a garden — a quiet place where anyone who comes to Lowell to follow Kerouac's footsteps can stop, look up at the open sky where that Moorish ceiling once arched above them, and imagine what he saw.
“Now that we're grown up, we read books.” — Jack Kerouac
The Royal Garden
The granite foundation walls of the Royal Theater have been preserved as an outdoor garden at the rear of the building — open to residents and Kerouac visitors alike.
Where You'll Be
The Royal sits on Merrimack Street, directly across from Lowell City Hall — at the center of a city just rated the best place to live in Massachusetts. A National Historical Park, a real arts scene, and one of New England's most authentic downtowns, all on foot from your door.
Select a place on the map to see it — or pick from the list below.
One-bedrooms from $2,100 · Studios from $1,750 · Now leasing in Downtown Lowell