- CONTACT: Joel G. Cahn or George M. Cahn
- Cahn Communications
- (201) 996-9222
- 24 May 2005
EAST ORANGE , N.J. — State and local officials will join developers today (Tuesday, May 24th, 2005) for ceremonies marking the beginning of construction to convert the former Upsala College western campus into a new community of market-rate homes.
The 20-acre parcel of land houses a number of badly deteriorated wood-frame and brick buildings which once served as dormitories, a library and administrative offices during the college's 81 years of existence. Abandoned since Upsala's official closing in 1995, the buildings will now be razed to make way for the construction of 51 traditionally styled single family homes and 17 townhomes.
The $15 million development, to be called The Woodlands at Upsala, is being undertaken by a joint venture of Applied Development Company of Hoboken and The Alpert Group of Fort Lee, which was designated redeveloper of the site by the East Orange City Council.
"Upsala College has been an important part of East Orange and the New Jersey education community since the 1920s," notes Joe Alpert, a principal in the joint venture.
"However, since its closure a decade ago, the property and its structures have deteriorated into a terrible eyesore and unsafe environment for the surrounding community. Today, through a public/private partnership and critical reinvestment in the area, we begin to reverse its course by replacing that eyesore with upscale homes that will ultimately breathe new life into this signature neighborhood."
Founded in 1893 in Brooklyn, NY, Upsala College moved to Kenilworth, NJ in 1898 before relocating to East Orange in 1924. Following the college's closure in 1995, the East Orange Board of Education purchased the 40-acre campus, where it eventually built the current East Orange Campus High School on the eastern portion, and sold the western parcel to the City.
The Applied/Alpert group have designed The Woodlands at Upsala to blend in with the residential development in the surrounding area which includes a diverse stock of well-kept single-family and multi-family homes and luxury apartments. Extensive landscaping and gas-style street lighting will help create an impressive streetscape.
The single-family homes will feature from 2,000to 3,000square feet of living space and offer three and four bedrooms and two-car garages. The homesites will boast generous rear yards and will be well landscaped. The three-bedroom, 2 Ôø‡-bath townhomes will offer from 1,800to 2,000square feet of living space. The community is expected to be completed by December, 2006.
For more information on The Woodlands at Upsala, please call (201) 886-7800.
Equal Housing Opportunity