Thinking of Living In…South Orange’s Newstead Neighborhood

Because it is one of the “newest” neighborhoods in S. Orange, with most of the homes being built during the 1950’s as opposed to the 1880s-1930’s like most of the rest of town, Newstead is one of the few neighborhoods S. Orange where mid -century buffs who are shopping for S. Orange, NJ real estate and homes can find what they are looking for. Many large ranch homes were built in the neighborhood during that era and they feature elements not found in earlier homes such as large finished basements, air conditioning, pools, first floor laundry rooms, larger closets and floor to ceiling windows and fireplaces. I’ve pictured some favorites in this post.

For Kanani Brigg’s family, the more modern homes in Newstead were a big draw when they purchased in Newstead 9 years ago. They liked the large spaces offered uniquely by Newstead homes. “Newstead is a community within a community because of it’s geography,” according to Briggs. Newstead, she says, “Is great a mix of ages and ethnicities. I see a lot of kids biking on the streets here and I like that.”

Newstead is at the westernmost edge of S. Orange on the top of S. Mountain so it is not within easy walking distance to S. Orange Village. From the “entrance” to the neighborhood at Glenview Rd./S. Orange Ave. it’s about 1.4 miles downhill and 25 minutes walk to the station on Sloan Street. Yet its seclusion and location provide distinct advantages — quiet streets, a true sense of community and properties that back to the wooded S. Mountain Reservation nature preserve or have views of the City.

Shana Teitelbaum, a Newstead resident who runs ad sales for our hyper local news site Village Green, has seen more and more families with young children moving to her neighborhood in the last 2-3 years. She likes what she sees and hears — the voices of kids playing in the neighborhood and lots of renovation going on. “It’s reinvigorated the neighborhood,” she says.

The Teitelbaums were targeting S. Orange for a home purchase several years ago. They had friends in S. Orange and were looking at a lot of houses in the Wyoming and Montrose areas. Newstead struck a chord with the Teitelbaums– the homes were bigger, lots larger, and neighborhood quieter. Plus they were looking for a pool, which is more commonplace in Newstead than in other parts of town. “Newstead has a very comfortable feel,” says Teitelbaum, “because of the lack of traffic and flat topography. It’s easy to walk your dog, ride your bike or skateboard on the street.” Being away from the train and town does not affect Teitelbaum who works from home or her husband who works in NJ and drives to work. They if they need to get into NYC they can easily take the jitney, she explained.

Patricia Canning, President of the Newstead Neighborhood Association, is proud of how active the Association is. She explained that it holds a couple of social events during the year; some aimed at families with kids and some for grown ups only. They also sponsor a food drive, picnic and welcome new neighbors with information about the town and Association.

The neighborhood association also takes on more serious issues. Beth Meyer, an association member and neighborhood resident was instrumental in successfully lobbying the town to make repaving Newstead’s streets a priority.

Here are some of the perks of Newstead living:

– The streets are quiet, flat and prime for recreation

– Easy access to other towns N. and W. of S. Orange such as Livingston, Millburn and West Orange

– The S. Mountain School is highly rated. The “Annex” is located in Newstead and the district has a shuttle for students who attend “the big school” down the hill on Wyoming Ave.

– Newstead has its own playground

– Jitney service to the S. Orange station

– Excellent proximity to S. Mountain reservation, which abuts some of the neighborhood’s homes

– City views from some streets

– Host to annual Newstead 5K charity run to benefit the Achieve Foundation

– Active neighborhood association

If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in the Newstead area of S. Orange, NJ or any of the other unique surrounding neighborhoods in the Maplewood/S. Orange NJ area please contact me. I am a local market expert and would be happy to talk with you about your real estate needs.

Allison Ziefert is Maplewood, NJ based realtor and the #1 individual real estate agent at Keller Williams Mid-Town Direct in Maplewood, NJ. A local market expert, Allison specializes Maplewood, NJ real estate and homes and South Orange, NJ real estate and homes as well as Millburn/Short Hills, NJ, West Orange, NJ and surrounding towns. Allison’s success as a Maplewood/S. Orange realtor is driven by earning great testimonials from sellers and buyers of homes her marketplace. You can read her testimonials at www.azhomesnj.com/testimonial