Questions about Littleton and Westford? (Worcester, Lowell: city hall, credit, hotel)

[huff100]

Looking into moving to either of these towns in the spring to help ease husband's commute to work. Each town looks nice on the surface but...
Two Market Baskets in Westford?
Does anyone know if/when they are getting rid of the old one in the ugly strip mall?
Littleton- What are they building right off 495? I read it is going to be a Walmart?

I thought the towns were going to be like Bolton/Stow but they looked like construction was taking over...

Thanks for any info you have on the town...

[495neighbor]

I was in the area today myself. Do you mean the building off 495 heading towards Groton on 119. I noticed the sign said it was going to be a large storage facility...booooring. Lots of new construction, but sadly not very fun businesses. Route 110 is the proud recipient of two large car dealerships in the last few years. The new mall in Westford has the usual chain stores. The old MB is rumored to be leaving a year or so from now. Look a little up the road at Groton for a charming small town experience. It is a little higher altitude and one of those places that just feels good. Stow has still maintained its character as well with many apple orchards and farm stands, with Maynard on one side with its growing restaurant scene.

[huff100]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

I was in the area today myself. Do you mean the building off 495 heading towards Groton on 119. I noticed the sign said it was going to be a large storage facility...booooring. Lots of new construction, but sadly not very fun businesses. Route 110 is the proud recipient of two large car dealerships in the last few years. The new mall in Westford has the usual chain stores. The old MB is rumored to be leaving a year or so from now. Look a little up the road at Groton for a charming small town experience. It is a little higher altitude and one of those places that just feels good. Stow has still maintained its character as well with many apple orchards and farm stands, with Maynard on one side with its growing restaurant scene.

Thanks I did see that storage building but they are doing more construction right near it and I just did some research and it is mixed-use including a hotel...I will probably wind up calling city hall to find out...
husband works in Lexington and has always had awful commutes for years so his reason for moving is to have a highway/better commute-Groton looks great but out of highway range. He wants to take RT 3 not 2 so Stow is out...[personally I love Bolton\Stow]

[gf2020]

I work in nearby Billerica and have several colleagues who live in both of these communities. The biggest difference in these 2 towns is their size and the level of services offered.

Littleton, population 9000
Westford, population 22,000

416 students at Littleton High School
1679 students at Westford Academy

Westford students earn slightly higher standardized test scores than their neighbors in Littleton but both school districts score markedly higher than statewide averages.

I would think having 2 Market Baskets in Westford would be seen as desirable. Heck, there are 3 Market Baskets in Billerica and 3 Market Baskets in Lowell!

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by huff100

Thanks I did see that storage building but they are doing more construction right near it and I just did some research and it is mixed-use including a hotel...I will probably wind up calling city hall to find out...
husband works in Lexington and has always had awful commutes for years so his reason for moving is to have a highway/better commute-Groton looks great but out of highway range. He wants to take RT 3 not 2 so Stow is out...[personally I love Bolton\Stow]

Thanks for the tip about the hotel complex. Okay, no Route 2, the most Stow-like town closest to Lexington I can think of would then be Carlisle, a small town rarely mentioned on these forums. Very close to Lexington, very strict development laws and home to the beautiful Great Brook Farms State Park. It is the kind of place where people walk dogs, ride horses, bicycle, talk to neighbors and have picnics.

Acton is an easy Lexington commute and may be what you are looking for if Carlisle is too woodsy. (Read your other posts and see you are in Hopkinton.) Carlisle and Acton are more like Hopkinton than Westford.

[brightdoglover]

THere is a lot of construction along Littleton Rd. towards and into Westford.
The thing on 2a by 495 in Littleton is now a storage facility and will supposedly add a hotel/restaurant. A casino was voted down rather quickly.
But if you get off 2a, Littleton is really fine. The Donelan's is a wonderful supermarket, tries to use more local farms and causes. There is no WalMart anywhere that I know of- the nearest might be Lowell or Chelmsford. I try to shop local non-corporate, and most of what I need is within 3 miles around Littleton- mechanic, vet, Donelan's, farmstand (with meat and prepared food). There is good healthcare via Emerson within a few miles and it's only about eight miles to Emerson.
I don't know that much about Westford, except that the main drag is becoming very south Jersey-ish. There is a new mall sort of thing near the 495 exit and has a Petco and other chains (I prefer Pet Thingz, where the owner knows your dogs' names). Yes, there is a Toyota dealership in Littleton. It's ugly, but it's nice to have some sort of business around for tax revenue to try and keep the residential taxes from reaching the moon. The quaint antique store isn't gonna cut it.
Littleton has a very nice local lake with a public area (Long Lake) and some horse stables and all. I think it's a fine town with a good community feel. The commerce on the main drag is still not as bad as, say, route 9, and isn't going to get that way. That one malled corner of Westford feels pretty crowded (where one Market Basket is).

[huff100]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

Thanks for the tip about the hotel complex. Okay, no Route 2, the most Stow-like town closest to Lexington I can think of would then be Carlisle, a small town rarely mentioned on these forums. Very close to Lexington, very strict development laws and home to the beautiful Great Brook Farms State Park. It is the kind of place where people walk dogs, ride horses, bicycle, talk to neighbors and have picnics.

Acton is an easy Lexington commute and may be what you are looking for if Carlisle is too woodsy. (Read your other posts and see you are in Hopkinton.) Carlisle and Acton are more like Hopkinton than Westford.

Thanks, would love those towns but two issues-one is money and the other is I work in Worcester so it would up my commute time way too much...I need 495...this is when I wish we worked closer together so the house search was more favorable to both commutes...after lots of research and map looking and driving around we are left with Westford and Littleton that way and possibly Maynard...would be able to avoid RT 2 because it is pretty close..

[gregsbabe12]

I live in westford now but we are hoping to move to a north shore town soon. They will be closing the older market basket in a few months. There is not much really to do here and you are limited on shopping. But the school is great. Not a real walkable town for my kids and i am tired of driving them everywhere for activites but if that is not a concern for you then you may like it. It is a nice little town.

[DAOBoston]

Westford has changed a lot over the last 25 years or so from both commercial and residential development all over the town -- most notably along Rte 110 as others have noted. There are pros and cons to this. To the town's credit though, it has at least done a good job of preserving the aesthetics of the town center and surrounding streets with the common etc. Overall, I think it's still a nice town with, good schools, etc.

[Cato the Elder]

If you love Stow, it could work. It would be 40-45 minutes, but it's a fairly pleasant commute from Stow to Lexington taking 62 and cutting through Concord Center and Minute Man Park or taking 117 and cutting through Lincoln and Minute Man Park.