Built in the early 1900's the Dean Shoe Building was a cornerstone for the Town of Natick prosperity. The building in the 1970's was used as a "mill" warehouse and retail shop for fabric and its products, thus the name "The Mills at Natick" or "Natick Mills."

In 1986 a local family, seeing its historical value, purchased the property and converted it into its current use as an 83 unit apartment building. The Natick Mills is still owned and managed by the same family.

The existing building a brick and concrete frame was preserved and renovated and the apartments were built into the structure creating very unique individual apartments. Most of the units have huge 7 ½ foot high windows and some units have 11 foot ceilings. The redesign also included several staircases, wide hallways, spacious lobbies on each level, and a passenger elevator. The "Natick Mills" property has 45 two bedrooms, 33 one bedrooms and 5 three bedroom apartments.

The site includes off street parking, new common laundry facilities, new boilers and a video security system that monitors various common areas and entrances.