Living in Devens Massachusetts
What is it like living in Devens Massachusetts?
Devens Massachusetts back in 1996 and prior was known as Fort Devens before it was shut down. When the Old Fort Devens closed down MassDevelopment took over the area and introduced a planned community. They would end up demolishing most of the barracks but keeping the officer housing.
The officer’s housing consisted of townhouses, bungalows, and giant colonials which were all remodeled and sold off. Once all remodeled homes were sold they began building additional units with a decent mix of townhouses and other styles.
Is Living in Devens Massachusetts for you? Take a look on Realtor or Zillow and see if there is anything that catches your eye.
Devens has around 2000 residents now and since it’s not really a town they get services from the surrounding area. Devens has their own full-time fire department and Department of Public Works but relies on the State Police who have a station in Devens to patrol. Residents of Devens vote in the town of Ayer and have a choice of schools in either Harvard or Ayer for their children.
On top of the school choice of Ayer or Harvard schools, there is also a Charter School, The Guild of Saint Agnes Day Care, and a campus of the Mount Wachusett Community College.
Among the acres of open space Devens has a nice children’s playground as well as Mirror Lake which is open to the general public for a fee. The lake offers swimming, and boating, and hosts local summer camps on hot days.
As with any new community and a lot of new construction these days they are turning towards low-energy consumption homes and building materials.
Devens has a small sub-community of what they call Net Zero homes. These homes are built using specific materials, closer together, and use solar panels on their roofs with a battery bank in the house which allows them to store and also sell energy back to the grid.
And speaking of grids… Devens residents do not operate with big-brand energy suppliers. MassDevelopment acts as the town government as well as a utility provider. Property taxes, gas bills, and excise taxes are all paid to MassDevelopment or the HOA association.