A friend of mine used to live at the Cotton Mills and we used to love going to hang out at his loft-style apartment. Everything looked so modern and retro (although having modern/retro furniture helped). One night, we rented some space on the rooftop for a party where we had a counter, etc. to put our food and drink...and cake! It was a beautiful evening and we had a great view of the city (although I hear the new Vue building is going to ruin that view; ironic, isn't it?). The location of the Cotton Mills is awesome, too. Walking to everything Uptown is a definite convenience.
The downsides? The price, of course. You definitely have to pay a premium to live right in Uptown. And one of my friends had their car broken into in the visitors' lot of the parking garage. The only thing that I didn't like about the loft apartment itself was that there were no doors between the bedroom and the kitchen and living room to which it connected. There was just an entryway. Nice if you live alone, but... I guess that's what you get for a loft apartment, though -- everything's wide open.