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MassDevelopment In The News
Welcome Devens
October 22, 2006: The Lowell Sun, Editorial
The voters of Ayer, Devens, Harvard and Shirley are facing an important decision at their respective Town Meetings Tuesday - whether to ask the Legislature to create the state's 352nd community.
If the three towns and Devens agree, and a referendum question is approved at the Nov. 7 election, Devens will be well on its way to becoming a separate community, effective July 1, 2010.
MassDevelopment, which was designated as the local redevelopment authority after nearly half of the former Fort Devens' land was purchased by the state, plans to create a municipality that could serve as a model for a 21st century community. It will contain a mix of condominiums, townhouses and single-family homes, 1,300 acres of open space, and industrial, commercial and retail facilities.
The idea of creating a new community that can incorporate smart growth, green construction and a real sense of its own identity is innovative and exciting. Eventually, Devens residents will be able to live, work and recreate without ever leaving their community. Sidewalks, trails and open space will encourage walking, bicycling and other athletic pursuits.
The proposed 1,800 units of housing will fit a variety of incomes and will include at least the state-required minimum of 10 percent affordable housing. Depending on the housing market, the community will be constructed in seven to 20 years.
What stores, restaurants, schools and houses of worship are built will depend upon what the new residents require and what will attract customers. Elementary-aged children will be educated on Devens. Secondary schools can be built in the future when they are needed and residents agree.
The redevelopment plan is flexible, which will allow officials to adapt to the region's changing business and housing requirements in future years. The current stream-lined permitting process, key to attracting business to Devens and thus for the economic growth of the area, will remain in place.
The successful redevelopment of Devens will result in an increase in jobs and residents there. Stores, restaurants and professional offices in the adjacent towns of Ayer, Harvard and Shirley will certainly benefit from a spillover of customers coming from the new community.
When Fort Devens closed, more than 7,000 jobs were lost, including almost 2,900 civilian positions. Today, Devens has more than 80 companies employing more than 4,200 people. The wages and taxes from those companies indirectly support another 3,100 jobs. As Devens grows, companies, employees and opportunities will multiply.
Scenario 2B, the proposal to make Devens its own municipality, is one of the most significant policy debates that has occurred in Massachusetts in about 100 years. After years of discussion and compromise, the decision reached Tuesday night by the Ayer, Harvard and Shirley Town Meetings and the Devens Caucus will be historic.
The Sun believes Devens deserves to become its own municipality and that it will become a model community for Massachusetts. We urge residents to support Scenario 2B.
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