People Make Olde Derby Village Special-June 18, 1993

Simon Companies Apartment Complex Fosters Serene, Multi-Generational Community Spirit Near Walpole Line

Community is attitude. Residents of Olde Derby Village, the apartment complex off Walpole Street in Norwood near the Walpole line, say picket fences and grassy backyards do not a community make. It’s people that make a community, they say. “There’s not a time that I come and go from here that someone doesn’t say, ‘Hi, how are you,'” said Debra McSurley, who has lived in the complex four months. “I feel very comfortable. It’s very serene.”

McSurley moved from North Attleboro with her two children to Olde Derby Village partly because she knew some residents. In most places, she said, distrust and fear of crime have brought people to the point where “people don’t want to be a neighbor.” But, McSurley said, she has had no trouble making new friends here. They often get together for dinner, coffee, or just to chat. “You wish the whole world would be like this and we would get rid of a lot of our problems,” McSurley said.

Owned by the Braintree-based Simon Companies, the complex was built in the mid-1980s in contemporary architectural style. The 139-unit complex is home to a diverse group of about 220 residents from all walks of life, from single mothers with small children to professionals who commute to Boston jobs, to retirees. Like McSurley, Ann Dailey is a single parent juggling motherhood with furthering her education. She moved from Hyde Park about three years ago mainly because of her children, Tom Dailey, 8, and Shawn Dailey, 14. “I guess school more than anything got us here,” she said. “I had to get the kids out of the Boston school system.”

For many, Olde Derby Village is a transitional place. Balaji Malur and Mary Anne Miller moved here to be closer to their jobs. Malur, a native of India, drives his car to the Boston University Medical Center, where he works as an anesthesiologist. A Pittsburgh native, Miller takes the commuter train to her job at Fidelity Investments in Boston. When she moved four years ago, Miller said, she wanted to find a place to duplicate her home in Pittsburgh. Now she has gotten so used to apartment life that she might sell the house when she returns to Pittsburgh in a few weeks. She likes not having to worry when the plumbing breaks down because the complex’s management takes care of it.

And though she values her privacy, Miller likes having the opportunity to socialize with neighbors. “All you need to do is come up to the pool a couple of days and you’ll know everybody,” said Miller. “I just like the idea that people are aware that you’re there.” Tom Dailey and Shawn Dailey spend a lot of time with friends riding their bikes or skateboards around Olde Derby Village. “On the nicer days, I come outside and play with a bunch of friends around here,” Shawn Dailey said.

McSurley said children are not welcome in some apartment complexes, but she has not gotten that sense at Olde Derby Village. Complex manager Irene Rosenthal organizes an annual anti-drug poster contest for children. She gave out prizes to this year’s winners during a pizza party last week, which included a visit from the police department’s drug-sniffing dog.

Malur moved to Olde Derby Village largely because of the town’s proximity to Boston, he said. Except for a cousin who lives on Nahatan Street, he said he did not know anybody else in town. Malur works long hours and has not had many chances to socialize with other residents. He jogs around the complex when he returns from work and uses an exercise room shared by the residents. Malur is moving out because he wants to join his wife of two and a half years in Chicago; otherwise, he probably would stay a while, he said. “On the whole, people I’ve met here are quite friendly. This is a quite safe neighborhood,” he said.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger