Add the scores of kids that can be seen from Front Street coasting down a nearby hill at Devens, and you have a winter wonderland picture worth remembering. On another note, this new municipal enclave is located inside Shirley s geographical boundaries, but within the perimeters of Devens, and some locals are wondering how this political and demographic anomaly will play out as the Devens community grows, particularly since it s a prime site being eyed for a new middle school voted in at a recent town election. When it comes to regional real estate perspective, the Westford-based company master builder Robert Hicks founded over three decades ago has seen it all, beginning in the 1970s, when he built Timberlee Park in Townsend, the company s most ambitious project to date 500 single family homes. Unlike the grand models that make up the company s architectural repertoire these days, these were modest ranches, capes and splits. The sprawling development is a community in itself.
Homes there tend to sell quickly.
Most have gone up substantially in value over the years. According to company VP Joyce Sheridan, who has been with Hicks almost from the first, this year s business has been brisk. She agrees, however, that finding buildable land is an issue at a reasonable price, that is. The high cost of land drives house prices up, she said. It s an active market, Sheridan said.