WEYMOUTH /Heritage Lane
A hidden cluster of custom homes near Weymouth Heights

By JACK ENCARNACAO
For The Patriot Ledger

Area: 21.6 sq. mi.

POPULATION
2000: 53,988
2007: 52,632

Density: 3,096 res./square mile
Median age: 40
Median household income: 59,172

FINANCES
Tax rate: $9.07, residential; $17.91, commercial
Town budget: $126.4 million
Avg. water/sewer bill: $638 year

HOUSING
Median home price
2007: $330,000 (396 sales)
2008: $300,000 (13 sales in Jan.)
Median condo price
2007: $210,000 (218 sales)
2008: $260,500 (6 sales in Jan.)

SCHOOLS
Number of students: 6,933
Number of teachers: 505
H.S. grads to 4-yr. college: 47%
H.S. grads to 2-yr. college: 16%
Median SAT score (2006): 1487Despite his tenure there, Cheverie said the neighborhood still feels like his, and his neighbors’, little secret.

“We’ve been here for a long time, and we stayed here because it’s quiet,” Cheverie said. “A lot of people still don’t know it’s here, which is hard to believe. You don’t find yourself driving through here unless you live here.”

Two homes were for sale on Heritage Lane recently, priced at $499,900 and $659,000. Homes on the street typically range from $500,000 to $600,000.

Cheverie, a real estate agent who raised two children on the street, said the prices run high because many of the homes have impressive detail and are well made. “There’s a lot of custom wood used in the house, cathedral ceilings, just a lot of detail work that you really don’t find today,” he said.

The idea of a custom-home subdivision was still a new one when the homes were built from the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, Cheverie said.

“The developer that came in here did a lot of different things that they usually didn’t do,” Cheverie said. “One of the selling points was underground utilities, which were unheard of back then.”

Heritage Lane is inaccessible directly off any of Weymouth’s busier roads but is within comfortable distance of several amenities. Nearby Legion Field, set for a long-delayed series of improvements, is a popular walking and jogging spot, and the new Greenbush MBTA commuter rail station in East Weymouth is a five-minute drive away.

Heritage Lane is in the Academy Avenue School district and is close to Jackson Square, one of Weymouth’s history-rich village centers. The square is known for its shops, restaurants and the landmark East Weymouth Congregational Church.

Cheverie said there is little turnover on the street. “A lot of the people that are in here have been in here for 20, 30 or 40 years,” he said.