Secaucus, N.J.: The Commuter Town With a Suburban Vibe

The Hudson County suburb of Secaucus, N.J., anchors the New Jersey Meadowlands, some 30 sq. miles of marshland, veined with estuaries and dotted with greater than a dozen cities. There was a time when folks fishing in these waters advised tales of reeling in a damaged statue from the previous Penn Station or discovering a physique buried underneath the seashore grass.

However no extra: At present, the marshes are interwoven with walkways and nature preserves. And Secaucus’s manufacturing unit retailers, which drew cut price hunters within the early Seventies, have been joined by quite a few retail chains.

For a lot of younger households, although, it’s the suburban vibe that’s the massive draw — together with the brief commute to the town.

“What makes Secaucus extraordinarily fascinating to consumers, at first, is its proximity to New York Metropolis, together with ample bus stops and free shuttles from most rental complexes to the practice station,” mentioned Michael Gonnelli, an actual property dealer who leads the Gonnelli Group at Re/Max Infinity, in Secaucus, and is the son of the city’s mayor (additionally named Michael Gonnelli).

That was true for Ling Dao and Jane Wang, who owned a house in Edison, N.J., and needed simpler entry to the town together with extra actions for his or her two younger youngsters. “Edison additionally felt very crowded, with restricted parks and playgrounds for the children,” mentioned Mr. Dao, 33, an data supervisor for a pharmaceutical firm.

He and Ms. Wang, 35, a stay-at-home mom, seemed in Jersey Metropolis, Hoboken and Queens earlier than shopping for a three-bedroom dwelling close to downtown Secaucus earlier this 12 months for $765,000.

“Ultimately, we fell in love with Secaucus as a result of it’s very near the town, however is extra quiet and kid-friendly,” Mr. Dao mentioned. “We use the quite a few playgrounds. We additionally ceaselessly go to the city’s recreation heart to make use of the swimming pool and monitor. Throughout summer season, we attend free live shows and films in Buchmuller Park.”

Bledar and Zlatina Brahimi left close by Edgewater for Secaucus final summer season, as a result of “in Edgewater,” mentioned Mr. Brahimi, 30, who works in finance, “there have been nice metropolis views, however the whole lot was co-ops and condos.” They seemed in New York Metropolis, however discovered it overpriced.

The couple hope to start out a household, Mr. Brahimi mentioned, and “what helped slender down our alternative was the varsity system and tax charges.”

In Secaucus, he and Ms. Brahimi, 28, who works in accounting, have been capable of finding a five-bedroom, three-bathroom home with an in-ground pool and “a reasonably good dimension yard,” for $700,000.

What You’ll Discover

Secaucus, a city with a median family revenue of $125,142 and a inhabitants of about 22,200, in response to 2020 census knowledge, occupies 6.5 sq. miles (about 10 p.c of which is water) in Hudson County. It’s bordered by the Hackensack River to the north, east and south, and Union Metropolis and Jersey Metropolis to the east.

The housing stock contains single- and two-family properties in a variety of kinds, together with ranches, Capes, colonials, townhouses and luxurious high-rise condominiums. Harmon Cove, a gated group with about 1,400 models that embody townhouses and high-rise condos, sits on the Hackensack River, within the western a part of city.

Rental choices embody the Harper at Harmon Meadow Flats, on the japanese fringe of city, and Xchange, a fancy with some 2,000 models catering to youthful renters who need a straightforward commute to Manhattan, to the south. (Secaucus Junction, the practice station, is reverse the advanced.)

Numerous chain eating places could be discovered on the Plaza at Harmon Meadow, a shopping mall in northeastern Secaucus with a Panera Bread, an Olive Backyard and a Bonefish Grill. Retail choices there embody chains and massive packing containers — Walmart, Sam’s Membership, HomeGoods, T.J. Maxx. Development is anticipated to start out quickly on a brand new Hometown Market grocery story within the heart of city.

Secaucus can also be dwelling to Meadowlands Exposition Heart, a Kerasotes multiplex cinema and Sheraton, Marriott, Aloft and Hilton resorts.

What You’ll Pay

At $6,646, the typical residential property tax in Secaucus is the bottom in Hudson County, in response to New Jersey’s Division of Neighborhood Affairs. In contrast, Weehawken residents pay a median of $12,138.

The “property taxes are a few of the most inexpensive in all of northern New Jersey,” mentioned Mr. Gonnelli, the dealer.

In accordance with the New Jersey A number of Itemizing Service, 52 single-family properties offered in Secaucus at a median worth of $580,000 throughout the 12-month interval ending Feb. 28. Throughout the identical interval a 12 months earlier, 30 single-family properties offered at a median of $527,500.

In the course of the 12-month interval ending Feb. 28, 107 condos and townhouses offered at a median worth of $387,000, down barely from the $390,000 median worth on 94 gross sales the earlier 12 months.

In early April, the New Jersey A number of Itemizing Service confirmed 41 properties on the market, from a two-bedroom condominium in Harmon Cove Tower listed for $235,000 to a two-family home with 4 bedrooms listed for $990,000.

The Vibe

Secaucus can look like a tangle of highways. The japanese spur of the New Jersey Turnpike hugs the city’s southern and japanese boundaries, whereas Route 3 cuts off the principle thoroughfare of Paterson Plank Street from the remainder of city, with an overpass connecting the 2 sections.

Downtown, nonetheless, affords a stark distinction to the shops, chain shops and highways. It’s dwelling to the general public library, the municipal authorities heart, a senior heart and small companies like Filomena’s deli, Fortunate Nails and Marra’s Drug Retailer, which has been in enterprise for practically a century. Different downtown sights embody the ice rink, the City Museum and Buchmuller Park, which hosts out of doors live shows and the Secaucus Little League.

It could be onerous to seek out one other municipality the place guests searching for a nature protect are directed to Bob’s Low cost Furnishings. However simply behind the shop is Mill Creek Marsh, the place guests can see turtles, shorebirds and different wildlife.

The city’s parks embody Schmidts Woods Park, Trolley Park (which affords views of the American Dream Ferris wheel in East Rutherford) and Laurel Hill County Park, which has a canoe launch, kayak leases, biking and strolling paths, and ball fields, together with a cricket pitch.

The Faculties

The Secaucus Public Faculty District serves about 2,265 college students in prekindergarten via twelfth grade. In the course of the 2019-20 faculty 12 months, 33 p.c recognized as white, 32.1 p.c as Hispanic, 29.3 p.c as Asian and three.9 p.c as Black.

The district operates 5 faculties: Milridge (for prekindergarten), Clarendon (kindergarten via fifth grade), Huber Avenue (prekindergarten via fifth grade), Secaucus Center (sixth via eighth grade) and Secaucus Excessive Faculty. Excessive Tech Excessive Faculty, a Hudson County magnet faculty, serves college students in ninth via twelfth grade. On 2019-20 SAT checks, college students scored a median of 531 in studying and writing, in contrast with 536 statewide; their common rating in math was 544, in contrast with 536 statewide. The commencement fee in 2020 was 96.7 p.c, in contrast with a statewide common of 91 p.c.

The Commute

New Jersey Transit trains depart the Secaucus Junction station for Penn Station in Manhattan, Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport and different locations together with Atlantic Metropolis, Monmouth Park and Philadelphia. The experience to Manhattan sometimes takes about 12 minutes. A one-way ticket is $4.25, and a month-to-month cross is $126.

Touring by bus can take about quarter-hour to an hour, relying on visitors. The round-trip bus fare from Secaucus Junction to Port Authority is $7; a month-to-month cross is $107.

The Historical past

In 1658, Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor of the colony of New Netherland, negotiated a treaty between European settlers and the Lenni-Lenape people who referred to what’s now Secaucus as “Islandt Siskakes” — the primary identified point out of the world. On the time, it was an island surrounded by swamps and creeks, in response to “Historical past of Secaucus,” a 1950 guide that devotes a complete part to “Jersey mosquitoes.”

Secaucus wasn’t integrated as a city till 1917, when it was an agricultural group identified for its pig farms. Within the Nineteen Fifties, with the development of the New Jersey Turnpike, it steadily grew to become the commuter city that it’s as we speak.

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