Kamini Desai, of Lincoln, and Naz Ahmad, from across the river in Cumberland, say they walk the Blackstone Valley Bikeway almost every day.

Old River and New River roads are two of the main streets in Albion, a former mill village on the banks of the Blackstone River in Lincoln.

Housing in Albion is a mix of older duplex-style mill housing ringed by newer suburban subdivisions. The landscape itself is a contrast of low-lying areas near the river leading up to high hills and rocky ledges.

The center of Albion still has its own small post office and a handful of local businesses, including Bucci’s café and a convenience store. But Albion is just a short drive from the strip malls and heavy traffic of Cumberland’s Mendon Road. Albion is in the northwest corner of Lincoln.

Richard Petrin, 45, chief of the Albion Fire Department, has lived in the village all his life, and has been affiliated with the Albion Fire Department since he was a teenager. He has been the chief for three years.

Petrin said that despite tremendous growth in Lincoln as a whole, Albion “still hasn’t lost its old village character.”

The former Albion mill on School Street is the most imposing set of buildings in the neighborhood. Zoning approval was given to Waterfall Realty of Hopkinton, Mass., in 1986, to convert the mill buildings into condominiums. Waterfall had purchased the property that year from Hillenbrand Industries for $1.5 million. Hillenbrand had planned to develop the mill but never followed through.

There are reports of a stone mill at Albion in 1823, but the buildings now at the site were likely built after the Chace family bought the property in 1854, according to Al Klyberg, vice president of the Blackstone Valley Historical Society. The Chace family also owned mills in Manville and Valley Falls, and their business was known as Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates, he said.

The former mill is now 191 condominium units, collectively known as Highland Falls. Highland Falls is across the street from the Blackstone River Bikeway, which runs from Manville south to Lonsdale. The former mill is also next door to Blackstone River State Park.

Petrin said the park and the bike path attract a lot of visitors to the neighborhood. And traffic from nearby office parks, the Lincoln Mall, and the Kirkbrae Country Club make the neighborhood heavily traveled during rush hours.

Klyberg said the Albion mill was one of the first mill-to-condominium conversion projects in Rhode Island, and there was a good deal of skepticism about the project back in the 1980s. He said he remembers when the condos were selling for around $30,000 to $50,000.

Highland Falls condos on the market this month range in price from $214,900 for a one-bedroom unit to $319,000 for an updated two-bedroom unit.

Single-family houses for sale in Albion through the state’s Multiple Listing Service this month range in asking price from $209,000, for a three-bedroom, one-bath ranch built in 1948, abutting the Albion playground, to $419,900 for a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath colonial built in 2006.

cdunn@projo.com