South Orange

South Orange is a 2.8 square mile community offering a diverse culture. The downtown area is undergoing a great rejuvenation with new businesses, new townhomes being built and a great variety of restaurants. The new SOPAC (South Orange Performing Arts Center) offers a wonderful opportunity for great live entertainment from concerts and dance ensembles to comedy and much more. In addition, there is a multi screen brand new cinema as part of SOPAC.

The population is approximately 17,000. There are 62 acres of parkland, 5 baseball diamonds, 15 lighted tennis courts, a duck pond, soccer fields, 8 parks and playgrounds, a large community pool and Flood’s Hill which is a favorite for sledding amongst the young at heart. The Baird Community Center is also a part of the day to day and is the home office of the Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs…and the Baird Theatre.

There are a few different sections of town that offer varied architectural details.

The Montrose section offers many of the larger vintage homes on larger parcels of land. The Newstead section has many postwar Colonials, split levels and ranches.

These homes are located up on the West end of the town. There too is the South Mountain area that offers a variety of home styles and prices as well as the area known as Tuxedo Park. This section is just east of Seton Hall University and has many lovely old homes at more affordable prices. Overall prices in this town for single family homes range from $350,000 up to approximately $1.5 million. South Orange also has many townhomes with close proximity to the downtown area and the Midtown Direct Train which takes you into Penn Station in 30 minutes.

The school system is one that is shared with Maplewood. There are 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and one high school with a reputation for academic excellence. Columbia High School offers amongst other things, wonderful classes in film making and journalism. For a tour of any of the schools, you may contact Judy Levy