Fitchburg

South Fitchburg is a suburban sprawl surrounded by some of the city’s most notable amenities. Art galleries and cozy pubs line the red brick sidewalks of downtown Fitchburg, which is immediately north of the area. Green and gold Fitchburg State University banners hang on vintage lampposts along Water Street, also home to a few longstanding storefronts. Locals can hike the Twin Cities Rail Trail, a 5-mile route leading to the neighboring town of Leominster. “It can take people in north Fitchburg about 20 minutes to get to Route 2,” says Lana Kopsala, a realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty, who has sold several homes in the area. “This is the easiest place in the city to jump on the highway and commute to Leominster and Worcester.” South Fitchburg’s hilly asphalt roads brim with homes built from the late 1800s through the 1980s. Turn-of-the-century Colonial Revivals have renovated interiors and unfenced 8,000-square-foot-lots backing up to pine tree forests. Concrete staircases lead to vinyl façade split levels and Cape Cod cottages with three bedrooms and one-car garages. Yellow and beige condos sit side by side in the Ashley Ridge complex along South Street, while high-rise units are in The Falls on Arden Mills Way. Though South Fitchburg comprises 59% renters, buying here typically costs between $350,000 and $450,000, a range similar to a Fitchburg home’s average $350,000 selling price. Children here can attend South Street Elementary, which has a C grade from Niche, and continue to C-plus-rated Memorial Middle School. Lastly, they may attend B-plus-graded Fitchburg High, where the STEM Academy offers pathways in biomanufacturing, computer science, chemistry and more. Established in 1886, St. Bernards Elementary School and St. Bernards High School are private options on nearby Summer Street. Red brick buildings surround the grassy quad on Fitchburg State University’s 60-acre campus, just 2 miles north of the area. “People think of South Fitchburg as the entryway for Fitchburg State because Route 12 is how people from Worcester get to campus,” says Kopsala. “Students live in the housing directly surrounding campus, not South Fitchburg.” With an emphasis on liberal arts, the school offers over 60 undergraduate degree programs, ranging from elementary education to performing arts. Locals can watch the Fitchburg Falcons hockey team play against other NCAA Division III teams at the Wallace Civic Center or catch a student production at the 800-seat Weston Auditorium. In addition to a small playground and swing set, Sadie Quatrale Park offers access to the Twin Cities Rail Trail, a 5-mile paved path stretching beside the Nashua River and the Fitchburg Line, ultimately connecting Fitchburg and Leominster. Parents sit in camping chairs around the two baseball diamonds at the South Fitchburg Playground every summer Saturday night for youth games. The Fitchburg Public Pool and spray park are also warm weather hubs located right next to the green space. Wood benches and stone gazebos surround Mirror Lake at the center of 250-acre Coggshall Park, where visitors can also hike along rocky bluffs in the dense forest or throw frisbees on the disc golf course. South Fitchburg's portion of Water Street has a few conveniences, like the Market Basket grocery store and the Family Café breakfast diner. Tucked beneath an Italianate-style apartment complex, Belanger’s Hardware opened in 1946, while Romano Greenhouse off South Street has sold Christmas trees, seasonal produce and plants in the area since 1941. Locals will find a more extensive selection of restaurants and a few entertainment hubs in Downtown Fitchburg. Bartenders pour pints of Guinness behind the mahogany bar at Slattery’s, a cozy pub that has been serving seafood, steaks and sandwiches for nearly a century. Zapata is a modern Mexican spot known for fruit-flavored margaritas and the Taco Tuesday special, where three tacos made with red corn tortillas cost $12. The Boulder Art Gallery’s yellow brick storefront is filled with paintings by local artists, and the New Players Theater Guild hosts numerous plays every year. Past productions include “The Wizard of Oz” and “Steel Magnolias.” Massachusetts Route 2 and Interstate 190 are to the south, and a 25-mile drive along the highways leads to Worcester. Though future pilots can train at the nearby Fitchburg Municipal Airport, the closest commercial flights are at the Worcester Regional Airport. Several Montachusett Regional Transit Authority bus stops line Water Street. Boston lies 55 miles to the east, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail carries passengers from its Fitchburg station to Boston in less than 2 hours.