Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are looking to buy WP home - carolina model. we have concerns around school district ( we dont have kids yet).
This community would be great for commuters to city ( myself and wife work in the city) and future rentals ( especially the 2 bedroom town homes). Ilooked at Hoboken and $650000 is minimum for 2 bed condos
What are your take on the schools? I think this is a critical thing and cost around $1500 per month for private school. Everything in these communitites are centered around wesmont station. If station is sole criteria, why did lyndhurst, kingsland, garfield school districts never improved since last 10 years? These areas have beter retail as well.
If schools are your primary concern, my advice is not to go there. It is too much of a risk. Schools do not improve just because wealthy people or asian people move into a neighborhood.
BTW since you do not have any kids yet, you have lot of time (at least 5 years) before you have to worry about schools. I guess you can give the place a try and see if schools improve in the next 5 years. If they do not, you can always move out.
What makes your questions/comments any more important or relevant than someone else's? This thread is entitled "New Development. Potential?" - my opinions on the potential of this development are absolutely relevant, considering what people will find when searching for info on this master plan online; the real plan submitted to the town is a stack of homes bunched on top of each other with a ball field near the train station. Certainly not a "tree-lined, pedestrian-friendly community with bike paths." Heck, Pulte even chopped down the few trees they did plant - the stubs are all along Wesmont Drive. In response to the comment that these expectations are irrational and that developers are just out to make money, blah, blah, blah: sure, that seems to be the case in NJ. In other cities throughout the country, developers try to create a project that is in demand, and when given sizable amounts of property, are held accountable by the city staff and its residents to deliver on their proposal and provide public benefits in exchange.
The bottom line is that the hot market right now is attracting millenials/young professionals, and retiring baby boomers who want to live in urban communities where they can walk to amenities, have quick access to recreation, and reduce their commute through nearby transit. If transit were the only ingredient, towns like WR and HH would be booming already with their bus routes. They aren't, of course, because those targets are looking for the full picture and quite honestly, can find it very easily elsewhere.
ChinoJedi - I appreciate you replying respectfully, and think it's great that you are so optimistic in the final product. But, unfortunately, adding infrastructure (whether it be pedestrian, bicyclist, etc.) is not a 'finishing touch' when developing a community. The site plan shows a ball field and yes, a couple of connected streets, but those simply aren't comparable to how the community was described and marketed. Clearly, a town like WR was not prepared to handle a development of this size and is trying to get as much future tax revenue as possible. Once the site plan was approved, all utilities, infrastructure, and roads should have been built prior to any homes going up. At the very least, if the developer defaulted, the town would have gotten some 'public good' out of the improved sidewalks, remediation, utilities, etc. that could be bid on in the future. It's insane that people paying $600k for a development that is centered around a train station are forced to walk up the Passaic hill without sidewalks for 60% of the trip in order to take NJTransit Bus until the station is finally complete.
1) There should be sidewalks into Wesmont from Passaic at the very least.
2) A jitney bus service during morning and evening peak hours should have been provided as a courtesy to residents; this is something offered to residents of other transit communities like Hoboken so it is in no way unrealistic.
3) Management will continue telling you that new restaurants and retail are coming for the same reason they've left Milk and Honey in its ghost state for over a year- it's in their best interest to sell the lifestyle which includes having walkable amenities on-site. Unfortunately, those don't look to be coming anytime soon.
I hope everyone's home is everything they ever wanted and that the community becomes whatever it is you desire it to be. I, personally, feel I'm paying far too much to live in what is still an isolated community, where I can hear neighbors' phone conversations from my window, wake up to construction on weekends, etc. My opinion has no bearing on anyone's joy- I don't judge anyone for not having the same values or expectations as I had/have. I think I deserve to state my view, which I have done and won't hammer in anymore after this. My frustrations all lie with the developers and the town who could've and should've done certain things better, and who flat-out lied/embellished the benefits that residents could expect - certainly not with any of the homeowners.
That Jitney would really come in handy once the snow starts next month...We also need to PUSH them to add the retail/restaurants as I think we've all been complacent for too long and need to get this community moving! Anyone up for starting a petition or something to get Pulte or the community to provide a jitney service to the Bus/Train and then something to add in retail/restaurants/starbucks?
That Jitney would really come in handy once the snow starts next month...We also need to PUSH them to add the retail/restaurants as I think we've all been complacent for too long and need to get this community moving! Anyone up for starting a petition or something to get Pulte or the community to provide a jitney service to the Bus/Train and then something to add in retail/restaurants/starbucks?
Well, this winter's looking very mild so far, thanks to El Nino. I've pinged our Liberty Square board members about a jitney service to the train station (once it FINALLY opens). Ultimately the service has to probably be run by the town via an E-ZRide service or something.
As for retail, I discussed this briefly with one of the Pulte sales reps last week. They said everything (including the Milk & Honey replacement) is waiting on the new train station. Not sure how much we can actually do there, since it is capitalism and everything :P
We are looking to buy WP home - carolina model. we have concerns around school district ( we dont have kids yet).
This community would be great for commuters to city ( myself and wife work in the city) and future rentals ( especially the 2 bedroom town homes). Ilooked at Hoboken and $650000 is minimum for 2 bed condos
What are your take on the schools? I think this is a critical thing and cost around $1500 per month for private school. Everything in these communitites are centered around wesmont station. If station is sole criteria, why did lyndhurst, kingsland, garfield school districts never improved since last 10 years? These areas have beter retail as well.
Looking for suggestions on this.
I'm on the same page as ArticBlast. I wouldn't worry too much about schools at your current stage in life. People on average in the US move every 7 years or so. And even more frequently for a DINK demographic like yourself. Personally, we've had 3 different sets of family friends who bought in towns like Scarsdale and Short Hills and ended up moving due to job relocation 2 years later. And we've moved 3 times in the past 7 years. So don't worry about it
Many young Wesmont station families, including ours, have adopted a 'let's wait and see' approach when it comes to W-R's public schools. With no kids now, you have at least 5-6 years until public school even kicks in. In the meantime, you can enjoy your tax abatement, haha.
In terms of schools, I personally think they can only slowly improve in test scores as 1) Wesmont station families grow up 2) the town demographic becomes more academically focused 3) W-R spends more money on the school facilities. For high school, there's always the magnet Bergen Academy in Hackensack nearby.
Finally, keep in mind that Wesmont Station will be ~1/3 of the town once it's fully built out. So it's not really comparable to the other NJ station communities in terms of overall importance / weighting to the town population.
@ChinoJedi
Thanks for sharing your thoughts always.. it has helped many current and will help prospect buyers of WesMont station communities .. I am prettt syre Pulte & WP will be successful
im pretty sure all the A-sians in the community will make the schools A-grade soon in the meantime, enjoy the abatement, the chilled out commute, and the brand new beautiful construction
3) Once the train station is up, I think we (Avalon, Liberty Square, Wright Place residents) should all request a town jitney bus service from Avalon to the train station during rush hour. As you mentioned, lots of transit communities in Hoboken, Jersey City, Harrison have this.
Will there be a path/walk way that goes directly through the development (shortest/direct route)? Or do you have to go out the development and walk up or down Passaic street?
Will there be a path/walk way that goes directly through the development (shortest/direct route)? Or do you have to go out the development and walk up or down Passaic street?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Jitney is needed - (Potential buyer)
