Montclair Real Estate Community

Montclair & Upper Montclair

Montclair is located on the First Mountain of the Watchung Mountains with excellent views of the surrounding area and the New York City skyline, which is about 12 miles (19 km) away. Montclair is assigned two ZIP codes; the central and southern parts of the town are designated 07042. The northern portion of town, north of Watchung Avenue, has a separate ZIP code, 07043, and is known as Upper Montclair.

Montclair inspires a lot of loyalty as the “urban suburb,” or, as New York Magazine called it, “a cultural oasis” in the suburbs. We’ve got a diverse population of more than 35,000 people, dozens of restaurants, movie theaters, and frequent cultural events. There is not just one shopping district but four. And yet, much of the town feels like a suburb with beautiful tree-lined streets and private homes.

Several streams flow eastward through Montclair: Toney’s Brook in the center, Nishuane Brook in the southeast, the Wigwam Brook in the southwest, the Pearl Brook in the northwest, and the Yantacaw Brook in the northeast, all in the Passaic River watershed.

Montclair is considered a commuter town of New York City. The commute to New York City is quick (from 35 to 45 minutes) from one of six train stations leading to Hoboken and Manhattan (as well as a private bus company and a town-run jitney service). Running through Montclair is the Montclair-Boonton Line, which goes between New York City / Hoboken and Hackettstown. The midtown-direct train line made real estate prices here soar during the early to mid 2000s. The downturn has been felt less harshly here as well as homes here still go for a premium. The town was listed on Forbes February 2009 as one of the “Ten Best Suburbs To Sell A Home” in the nation.There are seven railway stations serving Montclair: Bay Street, Walnut Street, Watchung Avenue, Upper Montclair, Mountain Avenue, and Montclair Heights in Montclair, and Montclair State University Station in the Great Notch area of Little Falls, New Jersey. Only Bay Street station has weekend train service.

Montclair’s urbanish feeling attracts many writers, creative people, and professionals who want to raise their families with close access to jobs in the city. The town also appeals to people, like me, who appreciate mature trees, parks, gardens and a varied stock of older homes ranging from $400,000 to $4,000,000-from ornate Victorians to clean-lined craftsman colonials.

The school system here is unique – a successful magnet system that was begun in 1977 as a voluntary desegregation program. With seven elementary schools and three middle schools, the Montclair system is designed to offer parents choices. Some schools emphasize arts, others sciences. No one school is better than another.

We’ve got many preschool options, and a Community Pre-K that offers a an especially wonderful program thanks to a unique combination of private and public funds. With Montclair State University in town, people here benefit with access to public programs and performances – all making it a great town to invest in.

Air & Road

Montclair is 13 miles (21 km) from Newark Liberty International Airport, 42 miles (68 km) from JFK Airport and 31 miles (50 km) from LaGuardia Airport. The Garden State Parkway to the east, U.S. Route 46 and New Jersey Route 3 to the north, and New Jersey Route 23 to the west are slightly past the town’s borders. The main road through Montclair is Bloomfield Avenue.

There is a taxi-stand, off of Bloomfield Avenue in eastern Montclair, in front of Lackawanna Plaza, formerly the Montclair train station.

Parks & Recreation

Montclair is home to many parks and nature reserves. In Montclair there are many parks, such as Edgemont Memorial Park, Essex Park, Glenfield Park, Nishuane Park, Rand Park, Graz Park, Canterbury Park, Watchung Park, Eagle Rock Reservation, Brookdale Park, Anderson Park, Yantacaw Brook Park, the Bonsal Nature Reserve, Mountainside Park, the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, and Mills Reservation. There are also many sports fields, some public, like in the parks, or some school owned, like the Essex Park fields or Montclair State University’s Sprague Field. In total, Montclair has 153.86 acres (0.6226 km2) of township park land spread around 18 parks and 123.76 acres (0.5008 km2) of county park land consisting of five parks.

There are also 18 public tennis courts, four skating rinks (two of which are indoor) and 3 public swimming pools, which are the Mountainside pool, the Nishuane pool, and the Essex pool.

Montclair Preschools (No Website)

•Parkside Montessori – 973-509-7379
•Over the Rainbow – 973-744-5905
•MMO Programs – 973-744-2718
•Pilsbury School – 973-746-2135