They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
with 24 condos and some green acres
Housing plots
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
My apoligies to Joni Mitchell for changing the lyrics but it seems Allendale residents, the mayor and council do know what they have and have won a battle to keep it before it was gone. This is the case with Orchard Commons, the 3 acre planned townhouse development at the corner or Orchard and Franklin Tpke.
Going back years ago, we used to call this corner the Thruston property. I don't know if the Thurstons did in fact own all of this land but most recently the owner is Ramon Alvarez. The parcel of land in question runs very close to the A& P shopping center and is passed by thousands each day as they traverse Allendale. Mr. Alvarez's plan for the town houses initially was stopped by FEMA because a stream running through the property deemed it in a floodway. It was at this time councilman Jim Strauch led a crusade amoung the Allendale residents to provide contributions to buy the land from Mr. Alvarez. Suddenly, FEMA changed their mind and said they were mistaken and the plan was approved.
With a timeline to adhere to, Mr. Alvarez with in the course of a few days, brought in construction equipment and knocked down all the trees and cleared the land. I have to say I was among the many people who drove by one day this past spring and was shocked. "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you got till it's gone..." With the land cleared, the picture of 24 townhouses in this 3 acre plot could be easily visiulized.
FEMA then granted an extension to the planned time table and the Mayor and council of Allendale opened negotiations to buy the land from Mr. Alvarez as construction was halted. What finally emerged was an agreement between the town and Mr. Alvarez for the town of Allendale to purchase the land. The town would introduced a bond to fund the purchased and Mr. Alvarez agreed to take payment over a period of three years. In place of the 24 townhomes, 8 units would be built on the north corner of the property to satisfy some Mt Laurel obligations and the rest would be turned into parkland.
Recappiing the history of this transaction does not even scratch the surface of all the efforts which have gone into the final results. I know without Mayor Barra taking charge to talk directly to Mr. Alvarez it would never have happened. Council Strauch and Schoeplin had the initial foresight to try and gather resident support. Let us not forget to thank Mr. Alvarez for his willingness to work with the town. There are many others involved which I do not know about but whom I would like to thank for their efforts.
This type of story is one that shows people what Allendale is all about. It's spirit of it's people to try and protect it and keep it what it is today. People working together and looking towards the future and trying to presevere the quality of life in this lovely town. Allendale already has some wonderful "open space". The Celery Farms nature presevere is about 60 + acres of protected land thanks in part to a large effort made 25 - 30 years ago to save this land. The purchase of Crestwoood Lake by the town in the early 1970's saved another 70 acres for development. With all the large tracts of land gone, now the effort comes down to saving two and three acre plots around town.
The Fell house on Franklin Tpke just north of Cottage Place is the next battle. The mayor has already stated the town would help facilitate where it can to help save this land from the proposed 11 townhomes development but no purchase by the town would be made. The residents must make it happen on their own and they have started to organize to make this happen.
Not all the battles for open space will be won or can we afford to win them all. Someone has to pay in the end. What's next on the list? I do not know what is happening with the old nursing home on FranklinTpke that has been sitting vacant for at least 5 years that I know of. There has been plans in front of the planning board for the Freeman property at the end of Chestnut St over the railroad tracks as a site for more townhomes. Our town may not stay as we would ultimately like it. Time moves on. However, the spirit of the people in town to try and band together for what they believe is right remains. It is why I chose to raise my family in Allendale as my father did his.
Thoughts or comments? I would be glad to hear them.
(this is a Repost from Oct 2007)
If you are interested to know more about Allendale and about its real estate market, contact me for a free consultation!
James Lockard
RE/MAX Properties
Office: 201-825-6600
Cell: 201-674-3114
Email: jlockard@remax.net
Website: http://www.BergenCounty-Homes.com/
The landmark of the Ball Field is the Grand Stand. It stands regally over the major league diamond on the first base foul line. The grand stand was revitalized recently in the 2000's by the Allendale Recreation Commission & the Holiday Observers and painted by the local Boy Scouts to give it its look as it is today. From what I can remember it was first built in 1915 and then in 1935 it was replaced. Over the years it has always served as the diamond for the next level of organized baseball after little league(13- 15 year old boys). There were also semi-professional baseball teams playing there in the 30's and 40's and in the 1970's I remember watching the Allendale Highlanders play in the Metro league. Jim Bouton, the retired Yankee pitcher and Author of the book "Ball Four" pitched for the Merchants of the same league at that time. 
Since that time, tennis courts have been added over by the red barn, a softball diamond was added in back of the barn and a soccer field was landscaped over on the west side of the lake. Today Crestwood Park has a children's playground and is home to the town's 9/11 Memorial which sits in a serene area in the north corner of the property.