Modern retail and deep historical roots in Parsippany-Troy Hills
History lives in Parsippany-Troy Hills, where common home styles include Revolutionary-era farmhouses and midcentury Cape Cods. There’s even a designated historic district in the Mount Tabor section, with late 19th-century Victorians remaining as hymns to a time when Methodists founded a local summer retreat. Going even further back, the Parsippany Presbyterian Church is an enduring brick structure where people have been meeting since 1828. However, today Parsippany is quite modern, crossed by major retail corridors. The area is populous, too, with over 50,000 residents. "Parsippany is very large, with multiple ZIP codes," says Gloria LaForgia, a sales agent for Weichert Realtors and team lead of the Gloria LaForgia Real Estate Team. The neighborhood is 25 square miles. “Many people live and work there, it’s not just a commuter hub,” says Frank LaMorte broker associate with Latimer Realty. “There are a lot of offices, and industries like pharmaceuticals, located along Route 10.”
Lake cottages, million-dollar estates
When it comes to midcentury styles, the classic forms are on tap: Cape Cods, ranch-styles and split-levels. These properties are on quiet suburban streets, surrounded by grass and range from about $450,000 to $800,000. Larger homes range from around $775,000 to about $1.3 million. The area has a CAP Index Crime Score of 2 out of 10, lower than the national average of 4.
Parsippany Hills High's internship program
Children here can attend the Parsippany-Troy Hills Township School District. These highly rated schools attract people to the area, says LaForgia. Lake Parsippany Elementary earns an A-minus from Niche. Brooklawn Middle, which has a broad modernist façade of glass, earns an A. Parsippany Hills High gets an A-plus and allows seniors to have career-based internship for the last month of school and be exempt from finals.
More than 30 green spaces, including Veterans Memorial Park
Even though it’s not necessarily associated with an outdoorsy lifestyle, Parsippany has over 30 parks of various size. Veterans Memorial Park is 17 acres and has stone benches near monuments and cherry trees, athletic facilities and a mile-long walking path. Residents also spend time around the water. “Lake Parsippany has beaches to lounge on, and people will take their nonmotorized boats out,” says LaMorte. Knoll Country Club and the Mount Tabor Country Club, private facilities, have golf courses. The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms, a 30-acre historic house museum and National Historic Landmark, offers tours.
Suburban-style shopping with a sprinkling of mom-and-pop shops
While much of the shopping and dining in Parsippany-Troy Hills has a large suburban feel that requires a car, the Lake Hiawatha district delivers more of a small-town experience. Sidewalks will take pedestrians past mom-and-pop restaurants, dentist offices, nail salons and gas stations. But with two major highway routes running through the area, retailers like Target, Marshalls and Home Depot are also nearby. Grocers include Shop Rite, Wegmans and Whole Foods. Route 46 is populated by locally owned restaurants like Tandoori Flames and Spice Grill. Specialty grocers include Patel Brothers and Delight Big Bazaar. For more traditional eats, Tabor Road Tavern serves burgers in a lodge atmosphere. Italian classics appear at Grato, where customers can order pasta, pizza and entrees like chicken marsala and shrimp scampi. Fresh produce and artisan crafts can be picked up at a farmers market in Veterans Memorial Park every Friday from June to November.
Commuting to NYC on I-80, Route 46
Route 46 and Interstate 80 are the two major pathways running east-west through the neighborhood. The 30-mile drive to Manhattan can take anywhere from an hour or two, depending on traffic. But drivers can also go to train stations in Denville and Morris Plains, which feature New Jersey Transit lines that can take about 70 minutes to reach the city. At the Beverwyck Park and Ride, commuters can hop on a bus to Manhattan. "A lot of people who work in the city find that attractive, that they don't have to drive to another town to commute in," LaForgia says. Route 46 is also served by Lakeland Bus Lines, which travels to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in about an hour.
