Suburb seeing revitalization efforts
Silver Lake is a New Jersey suburb that offers popular local shops, diverse recreation options and several options for making the 13-mile commute to New York City. Split between the towns of Belleville and Bloomfield, this former farmland turned commuter suburb has been seeing revitalization efforts recently. Homes from the 1900s are being renovated and new businesses have been making their way to the area. “It’s going through a transformation right now,” says Louis Wnek Jr., a Realtor with Weichert Realtors, who’s been selling homes in the area for over 11 years. “They’re trying to attract a younger crowd from the New York area, and they’re really concentrated on building that area up. Ten years from now, it’s going to look a lot different.”
Multi-family homes from the $500,000s
Many of Silver Lakes’s 20th-century homes still stand, with some properties getting renovated or reconstructed. The area consists of multi-family homes with two to three bedrooms in each unit and single-family colonial-style and contemporary houses. Most include small lots, and some have driveways and garages. Silver Lake is a very walkable neighborhood with sidewalks and streetlights along most roads. Multi-family homes typically sell for $500,000 to $750,000, while single-family homes go for $350,000 to $600,000. There are also a few one and two-bedroom condo communities that range from $200,000 to $350,000.
Good grades for Bloomfield Schools
Kids in Silver Lake will attend schools in the Bloomfield Township School District. Students may start at Berkeley School with a B-minus from Niche before going to Bloomfield Middle, which also has a B-minus. They may then attend Bloomfield High, which earns a B-plus and has a student-teacher ratio of 12-to-1.
Close to rail stations, Garden State Parkway
Silver Lake offers plenty of ways to commute to New York City and New Jersey hubs. “It’s a target area for New York commuters and people who work at the Clara Maass hospital, which is right at the edge of Silver Lake,” says Wnek. There are two light rail stations in the neighborhood that run to Newark, and Watsessing Avenue station offers service to Hoboken and New York-Penn Station. Several bus lines run along Bloomfield Avenue and take residents to the rest of the surrounding Jersey area. The neighborhood is also bordered by Garden State Parkway, which runs from Paterson all the way down the Jersey Shore to Cape May.
Felton Playground, Branch Brook Park
The nearly 4-acre Felton Playground has baseball and softball diamonds with flood lights for night games and a small children’s play area. Halcyon Park is a small pocket park with a lily-pad covered pond and benches to watch the ducks. Situated on 70 acres, Watsessing Park is just outside the neighborhood and features multiple athletic fields. Branch Brook Park, America's first county park, has the most extensive collection of cherry blossoms in the country, over a dozen sports facilities and a nearly 5-mile trail. “A lot of people go play soccer here on the weekends,” adds Wnek. “Starting in April, you have the cherry blossoms come out. You’ll see a lot of people in the park taking pictures.” Many locals also come to participate in the free “Yoga in the Park” sessions that occur in the spring and summer.
Chains at Franklin Square Plaza
Franklin Square Plaza has a Stop & Shop grocery store and other chains. There’s also an Aldi on Watsessing Avenue and SuperFresh Food World on Belmont Avenue. Pat's Village Deli is a local shop and eatery that’s been open for over 85 years. More popular local restaurants are spread throughout the neighborhood, like Grill Master, which has been serving Portuguese-style barbeque since 2001. La Santa Bar & Grill is a Colombian restaurant and lounge with live entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays, and Belmont Tavern has been offering homestyle Italian eats for over 50 years.
Written By
Logan Soter-Reardon
Photography Contributed By
Daniel Byrne
