COMMUNITY PROFILE
Ayer still adapting to life after Fort Devens
By Thomas Grillo, Globe Correspondent, 6/01/2002
AYER - The talk these days is about a controversial proposal by a Billerica company to build a holding area for Ford automobiles on the town's east side.
Local officials and residents have lined up against the plan by Guilford Transportation Industries to pave 40 acres of its 123-acre site so it can store up to 3,000 Fords that would later be delivered to New England auto dealers. The around-the-clock facility could damage the town's water supply, residents say, because the site is near an aquifer.
But so far, the federal Surface Transportation Board, in a pair of decisions, has ruled in Guilford's favor. And after a recent review, US District Judge Joseph Tauro found that the board's decision was final. The town is appealing.
Guilford insists its plans are safe, and points out it's working on an environmental emergency response plan.
In the 1990s, two events had a dramatic effect on Ayer. The housing market crash caused prices to plummet by about one-third. And later, as home prices were making a comeback, uncertainty following the closing of Fort Devens (it was located in parts of Ayer, Harvard, Lancaster, and Shirley) caused prices to fall again, in 1995 and 1997.
Since then, home prices have climbed steadily. For the first two months of 2002, the median price for a single-family house was $237,500, up from $217,000 last year, according to the Warren Group. This week, the Multiple Listing Service featured 16 single-family homes for sale, starting with a two-bedroom cottage for $184,900.
At the former Fort Devens, several distinctive homes that once housed officers are for sale. There's a three-bedroom brick Georgian Colonial on a tree-lined street in the new Devens community, with two porches, three baths, and hardwood and tile floors, for $380,000. In the middle price range is a four-bedroom, two-bath Colonial with a farmer's porch, close to town and the commuter rail station, for $249,000.
Realtors say Ayer is popular among first-time home buyers who have been priced out of nearby communities with better schools, such as Groton, Harvard, and Littleton.
Kathy Knox, a realtor at the DeWolfe Cos. office in Westford, said that after a few years of turmoil, Ayer has become a sought-after community. Inventory has been low, and homes priced in the $200,000 to $300,000 range sell quickly, she said.
"There was lots of anxiety over Deven's closure, which took federal funding for its schools," Knox said. "But the newer residents are putting lots of energy into moving things forward, especially in the elementary schools."
Today, the 4,400-acre former Fort Devens is a community planned by MassDevelopment, the state's economic development authority. More than 2,000 acres have been kept as open space, including a recently added 18-hole golf course. The residential neighborhood is in one section, and there's an industrial park and a technology center on the grounds.
On last year's Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test, Ayer's 10th-graders finished 166th in The Boston Globe ranking, behind neighboring Harvard (5th), Groton-Dunstable (15th), Nashoba (25th), and Littleton (55th).
Other downsides, Knox said, is that Ayer is off the beaten path. The principal highway is Route 2; Route 140 and Interstate 190 connect the region to Worcester. There is no supermarket in the town.
Ayer came of age during the railroad era in the 1840s; railroads continued to help shape Ayer's economy through the early 1900s. Tanneries and mills prospered as a result of rail transportation. Today, Ayer is a bedroom community.
"The Guilford project is a big threat to Ayer because it puts half of the town's water supply in jeopardy," said Cornelius Sullivan, a selectman.
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AT A GLANCE
Incorporated: 1871Area: 9.2 square miles Distance from Boston: 35 miles Population: 7,083 Government: selectmen, open Town Meeting Tax rate: $9.85 residential, $20.73 commercial Median house price: $237,500 Municipal services: full-time police; full-time and on-call fire; 90 percent town water and sewer Schools: Hilltop-Page (K-4); Ayer Middle (5-8); Ayer High (9-12) Transportation: MBTA commuter rail
More information on Ayer from Boston.com's Your Town section.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company
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