North Andover

North Andover is a community of 27,000 people on 27 square miles of land that boarders the Merrimack River and the City of Lawrence. Although the town contains several large industrial and commercial zones, including Lawrence Municipal Airport, much of the land area is still largely rural, with over 3,000 acres of preserved open space. Available land, plus a reputation as a safe, quiet community with an excellent school system, has helped drive North Andover’s strong population growth in recent years (19 percent increase between 1990 and 2000.)

Within the Town of North Andover, recreational opportunities abound. Harold Parker State Forest is one of the oldest in the state forest and park system and has more than 25 miles of trails and wood roads and eleven ponds. The park is popular for bicycling, boating, camping, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, picnicking, cross-country skiing, and swimming. The Ward Reservation and Weir Hill owned by The Trustees of Reservations, offer miles of nature trails.

The town is at the forefront of the region’s economic development activity. Home to the former Western Electric manufacturing site, once the largest employment center in the Merrimack Valley with approximately 12,000 workers, the property, following stints of manufacturing production by AT&T and Lucent Technologies, is now referred to as Osgood Landing. In June 2007, the town approved a plan to turn the 169-acre property into a smart growth area of housing, business, and recreation. One of the first communities to take advantage of a new state smart growth incentive program called Chapter 40R, North Andover will receive a substantial amount of state funding for approving the plan, which was jointly developed by the town and the site’s owner, Ozzy Properties, Inc.

Land Area	square miles	26.7
Population Estimate	2006	27,196
Labor Market	May 2007
Labor Force		13,331
Employed		12,785
Unemployed		546
Rate		4.1%
Tax Rate	FY 2007
Residential		10.45
Commercial/Industrial		12.63
Median Single Family Housing Price	2007 thru May	$428,250
Affordable Housing Inventory	July 2007	5.9%

Detailed 2000 Census Data		North Andover.xls

Barker Road Connection
Bruin Hill Conservation Area/ECGA Farnsworth Property (mapped, but currently unavailable online)