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Reprinted without permission from The Boston Herald, Friday, August
19, 1988. Page 73. Real Estate Section.
"MAYNARD BOASTS AFFORDABLE HOUSING"
Downtown Undergoing a Major Revitalization - by Moira O'Connor
The hi-tech industry has been the making of the old mill town of Maynard,
rescuing it from the eventual fate of many once-prosperous 19th century
manufacturing communities.
In 1957, the fledgling Digital Equipment Corp. rented 8,500 square feet
of space in a red-brick woolen mill on the banks of the Assabet River.
Today, the $11 billion company, which does business in 64 countries, has
its corporate headquarters for the world spread over one million square
feet in a cluster of 12 rehabilitated mills and two other plants in Maynard.
The change in the town's industrial base is also upgrading its economic and
social level from blue collar to white collar.
In addition, the downtown area is undergoing major revitalization with
facelifts to attractive, old commercial buildings, new red-brick buildings,
brick sidewalks, new street lights, trees, good restaurants and a two-tier
parking garage to serve the increased number of business people and shoppers.
The town's prosperity has also created a demand for new housing in a
community that a decade ago employed some 3,000 more people on a daily basis
than the total population.
But even with the general soaring costs for new construction and the up-dating
of mill workers' cottages, Maynard remains a small enclave of affordably-
priced housing surrounded by the more "expensive" communities of Concord,
Sudbury, Acton and Stow.
Maynard has more first-time home buyers than the surrounding towns mainly
because of the lower prices, according to local brokers.
The developer who has made the biggest impact in providing new housing is
Richard C. Hayes, who came to Maynard in 1978 to build single-family tract
houses for $80,000. Today, these homes are selling for $220,000 to $230,000.
Since then, Hayes has developed three condominimum complexes - the largest
in Maynard. The 94 unit four-level townhouses called Apple Ridge, built
on a 24-acre site on the crest of Summer Street Hill, was completed in '84
and each unit sold for the basic-design price of $122,000. Their resale
price today is $160,000 to $170,000.
These first condos in Maynard brought an influx of young professionals -
employees of Digital and other electronics firms from the periphery of
Route 128, as well as nearby hospital workers, bank employees and other
white-collar workers.
Hayes' second development of 75 four-level townhouses, Oak Ridge, on a
19-acre site with a panoramic view toward Boston, was completed a couple
of years later. These are selling in the $170,000s to $180,000. Oak
Ridge appeals to many older professionals, according to Hayes, a number
of them trading up from homes elsewhere in Greater Boston.
The third development, and still under construction, is Deer Hedge Run,
just over the town line from Acton. The 155 townhouses are sited on a
hilly 37 acres with stands of pine and Kip Isle Pond. Amenities include
a heated, outdoor pool, club house with function room, kitchen and
exercise facilities. Tennis courts are planned.
The units are divided into 24 buildings with six or seven townhouses to
a building, and four different floor plans, ranging from 1,200 to 2,100
square feet of living space on three or four levels.
A feature of the Hayes' condos that appeals to first-time buyers
especially, is that only the middle floors are finished. The first-level
full basement and the loft are options to be completed by the builder at
an extra cost, or at a future date, whenever the owner can afford it.
The base price for the two-bedroom townhouses ranges from $172,900 to
$186,900. To finish the 14x19-foot loft costs $8,500 with a fireplace,
and $6,000 without the fireplace.
To complete the lower level with a family room (some with walk-out sliders)
storage, utility and laundry room costs $7,500 according to Kelly Regan
sales director of On-Site Dynamics.
One floor plan has a master bedroom with a walk-in closet and private
bathroom and deck on the second level, as well as a fully-equipped kitchen,
dining area and living room. The third level in this unit has a bedroom,
full bathroom and storage space.
The three other floor plans have kitchen, living room, deck, dining area
and half bathroom on the second level. On the third level there's a master
bedroom, deck, second bedroom and full bathroom. All units have central
air conditioning and decks have wing walls for privacy.
Sales have been three to four months ahead of construction, with 80 units
sold in the past year, and completion scheduled for Spring 1989, says
Regan. Buyers are divided about 50/50 between young professional singles
or couples and empty nesters. There are a few small subidivisions of new,
single-family executive-type homes scattered around the town, selling
from the high $200,000s to the $330,000s.
The most expensive on the market is a spec-built colonial on the Wilson
Circle-Abbot Road subdivision, high on a hill. The one-acre lot home has
four bedrooms, formal dining room, hardwood floors, first-floor family
room with fireplace, laundry room, kitchen, deck master bedroom with
private bath and jacuzzi, full basement, double garage, central air
conditioning and vacuum systems.
At $339,900, the home is expensive for Maynard, according to James Bruce of
Gallery Realty, Wayside Division. However, he points out that a similar
home in Concord would cost "at least $100,000 more".
In the existing home market, a garrison colonial with four bedrooms, 2 1/2
baths, eat-in kitchen, fireplaced living room, formal dining room, basement
and garage is listed at $228,000. A seven-room ranch, with inground pool,
is offered at $162,500, and a ranch with full basement, three bedrooms
1 1/2 baths, living room, dining room, kitchen, family room, and recreation
room is priced at $159,900. Starter and older homes are available from
$129,000.
--end--
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| > <<< Note 114.2 by VAXRT::HOLTORF >>>
> Was this an article or an ad for Hayes Developement? I
No. It's just that Hayes has done more than a lion's share of the
development in Maynard. (Too bad.)
> Does anyone reading this live in the Wood Farme Developement?
Yes.
> I've heard they've had problems up there (damage to foundations?)
> possibly related to the construction (blasting?) at Deer Hedge Run?
The earth does shake a bit up there, but all of the houses are still
standing. I think some of my neighbors are alarmists, but then again,
I live on the opposide side of Wood Farme from Deer Hedge, and my
foundation is intact. There has been some question as to the quality
of the builder's work. (Murrary, based in Burlington.) While clearly
superior to a Hayes home, there have been problems with cracking
foundations (before Deer Hedge) and excessive settling. Also, attic
ventilation and roofing technology was inadequete, and as a result the
entire neighborhood had ice dams the first winter.
> love the way they failed to mention overcrowding in the new school,
> concerns about open space, horrible traffic,sewerage capacity and
> trash problems.
If you hate Maynard that much, move out.
The article bills Maynard as the only place for miles around where
people with ordinary incomes can afford to live. To this end, it is an
accurate picture. The reason we see so much development in Maynard is
NOT because developers WANT to see the entire town paved over, or that
they LIKE blasting through ledge, but that there is a tremendous demand
for housing here! People WANT to live in Maynard. Is that so bad? Why
must you look at everything with such a negative attitude. What's bad
is that the surrounding towns, with so much more open space, are closed
off the the ordinary family.
As a Wood Farme resident whose home borders the Wood Farme "frog pond",
(A nice retention pond that houses a snapping turtle, some sort of
muskrat-type creature, and is the seasonal home for a pair of ducks.)
the biggest problem I have with the Deer Hedge development, and with my
other neighbors for that matter, is that the requirement of being a
two-income family to afford to live here means that the kids who play
around the pond tend to be undiciplined foul-mouthed brats. I don't
know. Perhaps that goes without saying no matter where you live these
days.
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