HOLBROOK /Lake Holbrook
From vacation spot to a bedroom community

By TERI BORSETI
For The Patriot Ledger Area: 7.4 square miles

POPULATION
2000: 10,785
2006: 10,914

Density: 1,485 res./square mile
Median age: 41
Median household income: $62,895

FINANCES
Tax rate (2007): $11.70
Town budget: $25.2 million
Min. water/sewer bill: water: $60 a year with meter; sewer: $143 a year with meter

HOUSING
Median home price (# sales)
2007: $292,251 (90)
2008: $236,450 (22 through April)
Median condo price
2007: $203,000 (4)
2008: $0

SCHOOLS
Number of students: 1,384
Number of teachers: 88
H.S. grads to 4-yr. college: 49%
H.S. grads to 2-yr. college: 15%
Median SAT score (2006): 1,458

In the 1940s and 1950s, the area surrounding Lake Holbrook was a summer vacation spot. City dwellers would head out to “the country” to relax, swim and fish. Small unheated cottages were the popular house choice until a few people decided to make the Grove neighborhood their year-round residence. At that point, ranch houses could be built for $12,000 to $13,000.

The neighborhood can be confusing to a newcomer due to the number of winding streets that circle the lake. Houses nearest the water tend to be smaller former cottages that have been winterized. Many have also been added onto over the years.

Margery Thomas first moved into the area in 1958 when she and her husband spent $12,500 on a ranch-style home in the outer-Grove – a few streets back from the lake. “They were well-built homes,” she said. “There was mostly woods here back then and the neighborhood has been changing ever since.”

A lot of new people that have moved into the neighborhood, Thomas said. “I must have had 50 kids here Halloween night,” she said.

In recent years the Grove, like much of Holbrook, has become an increasingly diverse community. It’s an affordable destination for those moving out of the city. The average price for a house in this section of town is in the mid $200,000s to mid $300,000s. It’s just 15 minutes from Boston and has a commuter train station that makes it a great place for commuters.

Tom Carlo, who grew up in the Grove, said the area is completely different than it was when he moved here in 1964. “This used to be a vacation area. My mother used to come here to stay in summer and swim in the lake. I think they paid $14,000 for their house back then. That was back in the ’50s. It’s different now but it’s still home to me,” he said.

A 3,200-square-foot colonial on Morgan Road is listed at $499,900. Originally built as a ranch house in 1950, it has been transformed with the addition of a second floor as well as a family room and master bedroom.

Doug Surprenant of Gordon & Crowley Realty Group in Holbrook Center said families like some trees but don’t want to be in the woods tend to gravitate to the Grove neighborhood . “It’s a bedroom community basically, and it’s very conveniently located,” he said.

The southern entrance is within walking distance of the downtown area and the entire neighborhood is pedestrian friendly. Walkers, joggers, bikers and mothers pushing strollers are common sites, and although no one swims in Lake Holbrook any more, it still adds something special to the area in all seasons.