RANDOLPH /North Randolph
Quiet, convenient, affordable and kid friendly

By TERI BORSETI
The Patriot Ledger Area: 10.32 sq. mi.

POPULATION
2000: 30,963
2006: 30,625

Density: 2,878 residents/square mile
Median age: 40
Median household income: $63,959

FINANCES
Tax rate: $9.22 res./ $17.85 comm.
Town budget: $68.36 million
Average water/sewer bill: $697/year

HOUSING
Median home price (# sales)
2007: $306,000 (252)
2008: $279,750 (38 through March)
Median condo price
2007: $209,750 (62)
2008: $187,500 (8 through March)

SCHOOLS
Number of students: 3,450
Number of teachers: 240
H.S. grads to 4-yr. college: 63%
H.S. grads to 2-yr. college: 22%
Median SAT score (2006): 1370

Two minutes is all it takes to get to Route 128 from the North Randolph neighborhood that includes Russ and Dennis streets, Christy Way, Christy Lane, Martindale Road and Pacella Park Drive.

And even with an industrial park as a neighbor, it’s quiet , residents say. Many of the streets being dead-ends with mostly ranch and cape-style homes built in the 1950s.

The post-war neighborhood is still a place where first-time buyers can find an affordable house. Many houses have the same footprint as when they were first built. . Donna O’Neill’s house is one of the few that looks different from when she bought it 20 years ago.

“We were living in Dorchester and were looking for our first house. We found this house (on Martindale Road) which was at the time a two-bedroom ranch. We got it for $129,000 and added a second floor with three additional bedrooms and a bath. At the peak of the real estate market, this house would have sold in the $400,000s, but now I think that number is probably in the $300,000s,” she said.

“My neighbor across the street is one of the original neighbors and she raised seven children in that ranch house. Today she still lives there and now all her grandchildren come over. The house next to her’s was bought by the son of the original owner. It’s slowly becoming an empty-nester neighborhood,” O’Neill added.

The longtime resident said she likes the schools and that her four kids are involved in town hockey and soccer programs .

Real estate broker Mark O’Connor of Keller-Williams Realty in South Easton said he had a ranch home listed on Russ Street.

“It was listed at $239,000. It has three bedrooms and a finished basement. Although this is a very convenient location, some people prefer the south side of Randolph closer to the Holbrook line where prices tend to be a little higher,” O’Connor said.

Mirella Georgescu of Raveis Real Estate in Hingham recently closed on a duplex condominium on Pacella Lane. After 165 days on the market, it sold for $165,000. “I had four parties interested in buying it, but the bank chose to go with the cash buyers,” she said. “It’s a sign of the times.”

She added: “Things in Randolph, especially in that neighborhood typically sell quickly even in this economy,” she said.

Stores and public transportation are within walking distance of the neighborhood.

A state group home in the neighborhood is home to four people . Mary Hill, who works at the home, said that neighbors have been welcoming. “It’s friendly but most people keep to themselves and with the highway right there, you can be anywhere in 10 minutes,” she said.

See more Neighborhood stories at http://tinyurl.com/patriotledger-neighborhoods.