Hillsborough Township Postwar Residential Development Part 3: 1981 - 1993

Readers who follow the Gillette on Hillsborough Facebook Page are participating in a year-long house-hunting expedition through the real estate ads of yesteryear. In this third and final group of posts, represented by the brief excerpts below, we have taken a look at residential development in the township from the end of the Planned Unit Development period into the beginning of the McMansion era.

Enjoy the recap below, and be sure to follow the Gillette on Hillsborough page by clicking the link here, and "liking" the page. Thanks!

We begin the third phase of our exploration of Hillsborough's residential development by looking at some vintage real estate ads from 1981, 1982, and 1983. The homes of Contempo West - on Longfield Drive and side streets - have their own unique contemporary style, differing from the colonials featured in most of Hillsborough's developments. This was nothing new for Parisi Building and Investment Co., Inc. as they had already built similar developments at South Plainfield, as you can see in the ad. 

We are back in the Planned Unit Development this week to visit Weybridge Place circa 1982-83. This development was advertised as Authentic Federalist Townhomes and makes a nice contrast to last week's visit to Contempo West.

We are continuing our chronological exploration of Hillsborough's residential development this week by visiting Woodfield Estates. This large development - over 300 homes - debuted in 1983 south of Amwell and west of Pleasantview Roads.

Throughout the 1980s the Planned Unit Development (PUD) Zone - an area bounded roughly by Triangle Road in the north, Route 206 in the east, Homestead Road in the south, and Pleasant View, Amwell, New Amwell, and Auten Roads in the west - continued to fill in with higher density projects. This week we visit The Manors, a handsome townhouse development south of Amwell Road near the high school.

Our continuing trek through the real estate ads of yesteryear brings us this week to the intersection of Willow and Matthew Roads circa 1984 where you'll find the entrance to "the Seasons". This development was advertised as having wooded lots, and, uniquely, lot sizes varying from 3/4 acre to 2 1/2 acres.

In this third phase of our exploration of Hillsborough's post-war residential development, we have been jumping in and out of the Planned Unit Development Zone. This week we are back in the Zone and visiting Huntington Park circa 1985. This townhouse development which used the slogan "Now you don't have to go a long way to look like you've come a long way" is located south of Raider Boulevard at Greenfields Lane.

The story of New Center Village - a development of around 100 single-family homes north and south of Triangle Road west of its intersection with Auten Road - begins in 1978 when the owner of the property challenged Hillsborough Township re-zoning that limited the number of homes that could be built. A 1980 agreement restored the original zoning and included a provision that required Hillsborough, with a $294,000 developer contribution, to pave Auten Road from New Amwell to the intersection of Triangle Road, and eventually to the railroad crossing by 1985. I am not sure if Hillsborough made the deadline, but in any event, New Center Village began advertising at the end of 1985 and opened section 2 north of Triangle in 1989. The developer also set aside a few acres at the southwest corner of Auten and Triangle for a retail complex aptly named New Center Village Square, commonly known as the CVS strip mall.

 

Our year-long survey of Hillsborough's post-war residential development brings us this week to Majestic Knolls. Approval for this single-family-home development was granted in 1984 - provided that the developer finish the missing piece of Triangle Road between South Triangle and Auten. The necessary property was acquired from Mary Mother of God Church the next year, and the first models were up by 1987. Wrap-around porches and central air were some of the selling points in the 1989 ad below. 

Today we journey back in time to 1988 to visit the beginnings of one of Hillsborough's most well-known developments, Country Classics. The sprawling construction project in the Millstone Valley along Amsterdam Drive has been ongoing now for almost 30 years! Ironic to think that it was approved in the late 80s amid a looming federally mandated construction ban caused by incomplete sewerage upgrade projects. It is also interesting to realize that in the past 30 years people have raised their families in Country Classics and moved on, and the development isn't even finished!!

Whenever I think of the large, unique townhouse development on Bloomingdale Drive near New Amwell and Auten Roads, I always think of the Third Stooge - First there was Curly, then there was Joe, and finally, there was Curly Joe. In Hillsborough we first had the award-winning Meadows - then there was The Glen, and finally...Glen Meadows! Coincidence? While you're pondering that, take a look at these two ads for The Glen and Glen Meadows from 1989 and 1991.

What's unique about Brittany Estates, the single-family-home development which debuted in the southeast corner of Hillsborough in 1989? How about the fact that their home designs were dubbed "The Working Woman's Dream House"? According to the ads, designs were "created based on input from a panel of female professionals"!! So, are you a working woman? Do you find that the homes of Brittany Estates have the "perfect combination of function and luxury"?

This week we venture boldly into the 1990s with a development that exemplifies the new era of much larger homes - Steeplechase Manor. Master Bedroom suites, 3-Car Garages, 2-story Entrance Foyers....there is a pejorative commonly used for homes with all of these features, but I reject it on the basis that people may use the same term to describe my home - which is not very different than the circa 1965 house I grew up in. Interestingly, brokers reported that nearly all of the initial sales in this 57 home subdivision were to people moving from somewhere else in Hillsborough. Were you one?

Hillsborough residents were well familiar with the name Crestmont Hills long before the opening of the first model home northeast of the intersection of Auten and Triangle Roads in 1992 thanks to a builder's remedy lawsuit filed against the township by the aforementioned Crestmont Hills way back in October 1984. Following close on the heels of the Mount Laurel II court decision which stated that ALL municipalities had to provide more moderate and low-income housing regardless of what had been built in the past, builders began suing towns whose zoning didn't allow the density necessary to build that type of housing. An agreement that allowed the developers to build 91 low-to-moderate-income units at the intersection of Auten and Triangle, as well as provide funds to rehabilitate houses in Phillipsburg and improve Auten Road was finally reached in 1988. We looked at Crestmont Hills when we were house hunting in Hillsborough in 1992 - how about you? 

We only have a few more weeks in our chronological exploration of our town's post-war residential development. This week we visit Pleasant View Farms - approved in 1988 and debuting in 1991. The development consists of three distinct subdivisions, all south of Amwell Road and west of Route 206.

Branchville Estates - the upscale development near the Raritan River - gave a nod to history by using the historic name for the village of South Branch, then backed it up by agreeing to preserve the historic Vroom Burial Ground on property they owned on River Road - eventually deeding the cemetery to Hillsborough Township.

I hope you have enjoyed our weekly journey through the real estate ads of yesteryear as we've traced 40 years of Hillsborough Township residential development. Today we arrive at the final stop, Rohill Country Estates. This development on both sides of Beekman Lane first appeared in 1983 under the name Rohill Village, Inc., one of a confederation of companies known as The Hallmark Group. You could write three or four full newspaper pages about the interconnected principals of The Hallmark Group and their activities in Somerset and Hunterdon counties. In fact, The Courier News did just that in 1993. In any case, this development did lead to the improvement (i.e. paving) of Beekman Lane from New Amwell Road all the way to River Road, which was certainly beneficial to commuters.

When we decided to relocate from Monmouth County in 1992 we looked at many developments under construction in Hillsborough: Majestic Knolls, Crestmont Hills, Woodfield Estates, Pleasant View Farms, etc., but settled on Rohill. This weekend marks our 25th anniversary in the township. I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to present this year-long series to you in commemoration of our 25 years as Hillsboroughians. Cheers!

Hillsborough Township Postwar Residential Development Part 2: 1972 - 1980

Readers who follow the Gillette on Hillsborough Facebook Page are participating in a year-long house-hunting expedition through the real estate ads of yesteryear. In the second 16 weeks, represented by the brief excerpts below, we have taken a look at residential development in the township during the initial phases of the Planned Unit Development period between 1972 and 1980.

Enjoy the recap below, and be sure to follow the Gillette on Hillsborough page by clicking the link here, and "liking" the page. Thanks!

It's 1973 and we are flipping through the real estate ads looking for an apartment or townhouse in Hillsborough's new Planned Unit Development zone. The township began hearing development proposals in 1970 - including some fanciful ones such as a plan by Apollo Improvement Co. for 1,325 apartments and townhouses, a major department store, an indoor-outdoor recreation complex, and a nine-hole golf course for 140 acres on what today would be the southeast quadrant of the Auten/Triangle intersection. One of the first solid proposals to actually get to the building stage was City Financial Corp's Alexandria at Hillsborough project north of Country Club Homes. The plan called for 300 one and two bedroom units on 30.9 acres, and included such amenities as a swimming pool, tennis courts, and air conditioning.

Today we are staying in 1973 to visit City Financial's other big project in the Planned Unit Development (PUD) Zone - Claremont Hills. This project on Auten Road near Amwell Road was planned for 700 garden apartrments, 100 townhouses, and most uniquely, 390 mid-rise apartments in 7-story towers. Like it or not, the three towers in the middle of Hillsborough have turned out to be iconic, and, although not repeated in any other part of town, stand as a representation of the PUD zoning.

We have been stuck in 1973 for a few weeks now - and it's all due to the PUD (Planned Unit Development) zoning. Enacting the ordinance caused property values to skyrocket, and tempted farmers to sell, and developers to buy! The soaring prices can be illustrated by looking at today's featured development - Hillsborough Gardens south of Triangle Road. The 97-acre tract was bought by farmer Stanley Kanach in 1964 for $117,500. He sold it in 1969 for $270,000 to a Princeton based land company. A pretty good deal, but this was eight months before Hillsborough Township enacted the PUD ordinance. At that point, two of the principals in the Princeton company bought out their partners for $300,000 - and then sold the 97 acres to Hillsborough Gardens, Inc. for $915,000! Considering that Hillsborough Gardens was proposing 48 houses and 876 garden apartments, they probably made some money too.

In our quest to reveal the history of Hillsborough Township's post-war residential development through the real estate ads of yesteryear we have finally made it out of 1973! Today we will visit "The Location For Happiness" US Home's Whittier Oaks. Located in the triangle formed by Hillsborough and South Woods Roads, these homes invite you to "Come on...live in the country.....away from confusion yet so close to the city." Did you grow up here in one of the "huge, livable homes...just perfect for growing families?"

Today's ad is for Buena Vista Estates, built in 1974-75 off of Old Somerville and Hamilton Roads. We are still in the era of the "Paneled Family Room" as a major selling point! It was the 70s, after all. What is more interesting than this developpment itself is that in 1973 the developer donated a portion of the property to be used as a Hillsborough community center/youth center. The property was leased by the township for $1 a year to the Hillsborough Youth Council, who spent the next ten years raising money and constructing a building with a solely volunteer effort. In 1983, with an incomplete structure that had also suffered from vandalism, the Youth Council relinquished the lease back to Hillsborough.

Cali Associates of Cranford, NJ was one of the first developers to jump on the Planned Unit Development (PUD) bandwagon. They appeared before the planning board in 1970 for Kimberwyck Village on Auten Road, but the plan needed some major revisions. In fact, the plan wasn't complete until 1973, after Hillsborough had made some revisions to the PUD ordinance. 

This week's ad is for the condominium townhouse development along Farm Road known as Hillsborough Village. This development was built in phases, so whereas this ad is from 1975, four years later in 1979 the Hillsborough Township Planning Board was hearing pleas from both the builder and buyers to allow Hillsborough Village to open three buildings before all of the site work required by the Planned Unit Development ordinance was complete. Some buyers had approved mortgages in hand for nearly a year. All the while the list price for the homes had risen from $34,000 to $40,000 to $51,000!

Looking to rent an apartment circa 1974? Beekman Gardens is "The Talk of the Town." These "exravagant", "luxurious" apartments are located south of New Amwell Road on Gemini and Capricorn Drives. Far Out!

Last week our excursion through the the real estate ads of yesteryear brought us to Beekman Gardens. Today, in less than a Bicentennial Minute, we will cross Gemini Drive and visit the townhouses that make up the circa 1976 Beekman Village. Be sure to turn onto New Amwell at the Arco Station!

I just love the ads from today's featured Hillsborough development, Brookside Square. Tennis rackets, pipes, the Good Life circa 1976!

City Financial Corporation broke ground on many projects during Hillsborough's initial wave of Planned Unit Development (PUD) in the 1970s. But perhaps none was more ground-breaking than The Meadows. Located off of the Auten Road extension south of New Amwell, this unique "Quad" development was designed by award winning architect Daniel Cahill, and consists of four clusters, each containing four townhouses, for a total of sixteen units arranged around a central court.

Today's featured development began building on New Amwell Road in 1977 under the name Kenwood Village. By 1978, this handsome townhouse complex was known as Williamsburg Square. This may be the first Hillsborough development to feature a floor plan right in the ad.

Our trek through the real estate ads of yesteryear brings us this week to two late 1970s developments - Brandywine at Homestead and Fox Chase. Brandywine is just south of Homestead Road near Route 206, and Fox Chase is north of Hillsborough Road, east of Willow.

We are closing out the 1970s this weekend with another double dose of vintage Hillsborough real estate ads. I knew where Somerset Woods was located - down Pierson Drive near Route 206 - but I must admit that I was unsure of Sunrise at Hillsborough until I took a drive down Danley Lane and found a home identical to the one in the ad.

Hillsborough Township Postwar Residential Development Part 1: 1955-1971

Readers who follow the Gillette on Hillsborough Facebook Page are participating in a year-long house-hunting expedition through the real estate ads of yesteryear. In the first 16 weeks, represented by the brief excerpts below, we have taken a look at residential development in the township between the first major postwar development in 1955 and the eve of the Planned Unit Development era in 1971. 

Enjoy the recap below, and be sure to follow the Gillette on Hillsborough page by clicking the link here, and "liking" the page. Thanks!

Are you ready to go house hunting in Hillsborough? Beginning today and continuing for the next 52 weeks we will take a Saturday morning trip back through the real estate ads of yesteryear. First up is Hillsborough's first major post-war development from the spring of 1955 - Green Hills, located at Duke's Parkway East and Route 206. 

One year after the success of the Green Hills development, Country Club Homes debuted at the northwest corner of Route 206 and New Amwell Road. Unlike Green Hills, which spelled the name of our town two different ways in their 1955 ads, Country Club Homes ads avoid any mention of Hillsborough, opting instead for "at Somerville" and "Somerset Hills". LOL.

Just one ad this week - August 1958 from the Franklin News Record for Claremont Homes. There are a number of developments in Hillsborough with "Claremont" in the name - this is the one off of Millstone River Road north of Millstone Boro. While Green Hills and Country Club Homes could boast about "city sewers" in their ads, Claremont Homes included septic systems on their 1/2 acre lots - which was a major concern 50 years later! No worries, the streets were paved!

Last week our Saturday morning house-hunting took us to Claremont Homes. This week we are visiting the other side of Millstone River Road and taking a look at Sunnyside Acres. Like Claremont, the development is divided up into half acre lots, and bus service is a unique selling point. The ad is from the August 25, 1961 Courier News.

The handful of circa 1940 homes on Route 206 near Partridge Rd. were originally envisioned as part of a large development named Hillsborough Village. Three homes were built on 1/2 acre lots and streets were planned east of the highway, but construction did not continue. Before Partridge Run could be built in 1961, the paper streets for this ghost development had to be vacated. These Partridge Run ads ran in the summer of 1961. Selling points included GE appliances and "9 full closets".

Hillsborough house-hunters in the summer of 1962 looking for new construction had two distinct choices. They could look at Village Green - New Jersey's first "cluster" development (more on that next week), or Claremont Hills which featured traditional one-acre lots. Claremont Hills is one of three Hillsborough developments using the name Claremont. These are the homes along Amwell Road between Raider Boulevard and Pleasantview Road, and on the east side of Pleasantview heading toward Ann Van Middlesworth Park. Originally envisioned as a 300 home development, my armchair survey (Google Earth!) counts less than 25.

Before we visit Village Green, located on either side of Brooks Blvd. near Route 206, you need to learn about "cluster zoning". Up until now we have been visiting traditional single-family-home residential developments of the 50s and early 60s. At that time Hillsborough's zoning ordinance required, for the most part, that homes be built on one-acre lots. The same was true all over suburban New Jersey. In fact, cluster zoning hadn't been tried in New Jersey since the 1920s. So what is it? Cluster zoning allows all of the homes - and sewer lines, roads, etc. - to be clustered in one section of a tract, leaving the rest as open space. So, the same amount of homes can be built as in traditional zoning, but each on a smaller lot. This saves money for the developer, but actually costs the municipality because residents expect the open space - including ball fields, parks, and the like - to be maintained. In fact, the amendment to Hillsborough's zoning ordinance that allowed for Village Green was promptly rescinded after the plan was approved!

If you turned down Triangle Road in the fall of 1962 you would have seen the first phase of Banor Park just going up. All you needed was a $2100 down payment for these homes on one-acre lots with city sewer and paneled rec rooms! The brand new school mentioned in the ad was Triangle Road School which had just opened on South Triangle Road.

 It's March 1964, and we are going to break the rules just this once (I think!) by venturing outside the city limits - barely. Millstone Manor is north of the village off the east side of Millstone River Road. You'll know you've arrived when you see two beautiful late 19th century homes directly opposite each other.

It's the summer of '63 and we are once again spending a Saturday morning house hunting in Hillsborough! Today we find ourselves on Township Line Road at Westbrook Farms. This is one of those developments where the name was so unfamiliar to me that I had to do a "drive by" to confirm the location. Sure enough there are still a few examples of the homes shown in the ads - in pristine original condition. These are some of the earliest homes I've come across thus far that advertise the ability to install central air conditioning. 

Imagine a day when Manhattan will be just 60 minutes away - or less! According to these ads for Homestead Village, that day was 1965. This development is on the north side of Valley Road on Warner, Wolfe, and Ebert Drives. I love how the ad is suggesting that A/C will be included - but it's really only a humidifier and filter for your forced -air heat.

Are you ready to "find your thrill"? Maybe you already did if you bought your new home in 1965 at Strawberry Hill. There's a lot going on in this ad describing the development off of Millstone River Road in the southeastern portion of the township, including renderings of the nine different models to choose from. We are still in the era of one-acre residential zoning, so nice big yards. But don't worry - TAXES ARE LOW IN HILLSBOROUGH. It says so right in the ad.

Most Hillsborough people think of Frankfort Point Heights - the development off of Amwell Road on Starview and Murray Drives - as one of our town's most desirable places to have a home. And there is no doubt that is true today. But from the time the development started building in 1965 through at least 1978 this development had issue after issue - most related to the fact that it is built on the rise of the Sourland Mountain. At the start there were no sewers, no storm-water drainage, and a difficult 12% grade going up Starview Drive. Neighbors living on East Mountain Road saw parts of their properties literally washed away as rainwater raged down the mountain. Ultimately the development survived the death of the original developer and held on until the extension of sewers into the area in the late 70s. 

Just one ad this week from 1967 - and its deja vu all over again as we kind of sort of head back to Banor Park. Yet this 33-home development on Lindstrom Drive is actually called Deer Run. So - where is the dividing line? Is the Deer Run name just a re-branding of the Banor Park project? Or is it a whole new development? We demand answers. LOL.

It's 1970 and developers are starting to think about proposals for the coming Planned Unit Development. But in the meantime, there are still a few traditional developments already in the works, including this one "in the heart of scenic Hillsborough.". What is interesting to me about these ads for Riveredge Homes from 1970-72 is the absence of the "one-acre-lot". That's because this is one of the first developments where we see the downward-creep of lot size - Just about all of these homes are on 0.81 acre lots!

In 1970, Pine Grove received approval to build 32 homes on wooded lots south of Hillsborough Road near the Strawberry Hill subdivision. Initially, Strawberry Hill residents were worried that access to Pine Grove would be solely through their development - but during construction Riverview Terrace was connected to Hillsborough Rd.

"The Key to Your Future..."? Move to Hillsborough

"The key to your future health and happiness lies in answering this advertisement."  So begins the 1912 sales pitch by the Equator Realty & Imp. Co. for $50 (and up!) lots in Flagtown.  Who could honestly say that they "...prefer the noise, the heat and ceaseless grind of the city to the calm healthful life of the country"?

 

 

Ad from the Brooklyn Standard Union, April 13, 1912

I'm not sure how successful this company was, as the earliest Flagtown homes still existing today seem to date from the 1920s and 30s.  Maybe the fact that another realty group was offering free excursions at the same time to visit their $75 lots at the site of the still building Johns Manville plant at the other end of Hillsborough tipped the scales in favor of an easy commute.  The lasting legacy of Equator Realty appears to be the name they attached to Flagtown's "Main Street".

New York Times, June 5, 1910

Somewhat more intriguing is the 80 acre Somerville suburb which was to be called Aten Estates.  Both the brief New York Times article and the advertisement from the Evening Telegram tout the development's proximity to the 3000 acre Duke's Park, the Hillsborough home of tobacco and power magnate J.B. Duke.  Project manager George L. Wheeler promised a plan similar to Duke's, with "winding avenues, concrete walks, and plenty of shade trees and ornamental plants."  A scheme made all the more plausible by the fact the landscape architect employed was Charles W. Leavitt who performed a similar function for Duke.

New York Evening Telegram, May 27, 1910

I am not sure if any lots were ever sold or homes built, nor can I find the exact location of this tract.  The only good clues are the aforementioned proximity to the Duke estate, and the description of the location as midway between the Central Railroad of New Jersey, and the Lehigh Valley Line.  And, of course, the fact that it was planned to be built in the area of Hillsborough where there are no mosquitoes!