Abington: Small-town feel in growing South Shore community
Abington
Miles from Boston: 19
Population: 17,461 (2005)
Median house price: $297,750 (Jan.-April 2007)
Tax rate: $10.80
Average single-family property tax: $3,913 (2006 state average,$3,799)
Transportation: Routes 18, 58, 123, 139. Brockton Area Transit Authority (BAT). MBTA commuter rail.
MCAS: Among 280 systems, 10thgraders ranked 115th in English and 118th in math, according to a Globe analysis of 2006 results. Sixth-graders ranked 165th out of 305 systems in English and 169th in math. Third-graders ranked230th out of 298 systems in reading and 255th in math.
Census facts: Median family income is $68,825 compared to national rate of $50,046; 22 percent held a bachelor's degree or higher compared to 24 percent nationally.
Website: abingtonmass.com
ABINGTON -- In the past five years, the number of people calling this South Shore town home has grown by 11 percent.
"Even though we have grown, and are not Mayberry anymore, we still try and maintain that small-town atmosphere," said Robert Wing, chairman of the Board of Selectmen and a Boston Globe employee.
Wing said Abington is "family-centric," with the full collection of youth leagues and a school system that he said is "doing well." A new $30 million middle school is in the offing, and the hiring of a town manager will help professionalize the town's financial affairs.
Abington is building -- a $6 million police station is under construction now, and its first-ever senior center, a $1.7 million project, is also near.
Incorporated in 1712, Abington was a farming and manufacturing community that became a bedroom suburb of Boston. Officials link the latest surge in growth to the 1997 opening of an MBTA commuter rail stop.
Green space includes Ames Nowell State Park, the town-owned nine-hole Strawberry Valley Golf Course, and Island Grove Park.
On a recent week, Realtor.com listed 64 single-family homes, ranging from $242,500 for a two-bed, one-bath, 534-square-foot home to $695,000 for a four-bed, 2 1/2 -bath 2,798-square-foot home. Median price of a single-family home through April was $297,750, according to Warren Group, which publishes real estate information.
JOHN RICHARDSON ELLEMENT 
