Around Burlington County

Within Moorestown New Jersey, you'll find some peace and tranquility over at Strawbridge Lake.  Located along side Rt. 38, the Lake runs from Church to Kings Highway over by Lenola Rd.  The lake is frequently used for picnics, long walks with the kids or dogs and even for fishing.  It also has become a popular location for joggers and those who just need a few minutes of peace and quiet during their lunch break.  Lined with trees it's easy to lose track of time just staring at the water. 

As with the rest of Moorestown, Strawbridge Lake has it's own piece of history to share.  To start, it's one of the few man made lakes in the area.  What prompted the creation of a man made lake?  The Great Depression!  In 1931, discussions started on developing a work project to help Moorestown's unemployed.  Money was raised and donated to allow 21 men to start dredging the lake for 25 cents/hour.  In 1932 the work began on "Lake Depression".

In addition to the wages, the land being used was also donated...the largest portion coming from Ester Strawbridge Brophy(of the now popular Strawbridge Department Store chain).  Her donation is what led to the naming of Strawbridge Lake.  So next time you're over by the lake relaxing, be sure to remember the importance the lake served during the Depression era. 

For more information on Moorestown please contact me or visit my website

~Ravi Shah, South Jersey Real Estate
Prudential Fox & Roach
856.914.4853

Congratulations to Delran High and Millbridge Elementary Schools. Located in Southern New Jersey, these two schools were among 17 across the nation to receive this years Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School Award.

The Award is a recognition program for schools of excellence designed by Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, Inc. (a non profit organization). Schools are identified and selected for this award based on achievement of excellent performance in all nine major categories of the Blueprint for Improvement.

The nine categories are

1. Student Focus and Support
2. School Organization and Culture
3. Challenging Standards and Curriculum
4. Active Teaching and Learning
5. Technology Integration
6. Professional Community
7. Leadership and Educational Vitality
8. School, Family, and Community Partnerships
9. Indicators of Success

For more information on Delran, visit the Delran Community Blog

~Ravi Shah, South Jersey Real Estate
Prudential Fox & Roach
856.914.4853

This is an update to a post I did about a month ago on Mount Laurel Schools. 

To recap, the school district was planning to create two separate middles schools.  Almost creating a situation similar to what you see with Cherry Hill East & West.  Currently in Mount Laurel, all 5th & 6th graders attend Hartford School and 7th & 8th graders attend Thomas E. Harrington.  The plan was to use these schools to create two different 5th - 8th grade schools. 

Well, the public spoke loud and clear over the past month and the Board of Education listened.  Last night, in front of over 600 residents, the BOE voted against the plan 5-3. 

Want to know what's new in Delran?  Find out on the Delran Community Blog that I now author!  The site has been a great success and has received great feedback from the community.

Visit us online @ http://www.delranliving.com/ 

The site is updated regularly with the latest news around Delran.  Find local phone numbers, school information and a link to my Delran community blog which is hosted by the Courier Post Newspaper.  The Community Calendar has the latest school events, town meetings and even the recycling schedule.  Neighbors are encouraged to post information to the site including news, events and of course the Free Classified Ad section. 

And if you ever have any questions about Delran, I'd be more then happy to discuss with you!

*this post was updated 3/1/08 with the new site http://www.delranliving.com/

Welcome to my next post on Delran.  This stop is at Millside Plaza on Rt. 130 which is located between Haines Mill Rd and Suburban Blvd. Millside Plaza has benefited from a complete overhaul over the past couple of years and the last set of stores are currently opening.

To start, let's take a step back in time. For those familiar with Millside, it was once anchored by a Shop Rite, K-Mart and a movie theater. I believe it was originally built in the late '70s.  I still remember riding my bike as a kid up to the movies to catch the premiere of the first Batman movie with Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger. But once Lowe's Multiplex opened in Cherry Hill, that was the demise of the movie theater. Next came the closing of K-Mart with the emergence of Wallmart down the highway. Then, Shop Rite jumped ship with the building of the new Hartford Corners. So for awhile, the shopping center sat nearly empty with a few mom and pop shops left.  It quickly became an eye sore as the building started to look run down and the parking lot fell apart.

Then, enter Target! The town was successful to land a new set of stores which led to the complete overhaul of the shopping center. The movie theater and K-Mart were torn down and the rest of the complex received a face lift. Now the center looks great and is buzzing with activity again. The center is now the new home of Target, PetsMart, Office Depot, Sleepys, Panera Bread, Mikes Pizza, Great Taste Chinese and a few others. With this and the emergence of Hartford Corners (a future post in the making) Rt. 130 in Delran is showing signs of life. There is still work to be done, but it's going in the right direction!

~Ravi Shah

For more information on Delran, visit our Community Website

For you homeowners out there, your home is probably one of the largest investments you are ever going to make.
Here are some tips that if you do periodically, will help maintain the value of your home.

Clean Garbage Disposal - With all the food that goes down the drain, a simple thing like griding several cups of ice cubes will help clean off the blades 

Flush Unused Drains - Do you have tubs or sinks that don't get used often? Pour a gallon of water down them to help flush out dirt that may start to accumulate

Check The Attic - It's getting colder outside, which means small animals may be looking for a winter home. Take a quick look around for birds, squirrels, raccoons, etc

Clean Air Ducts - Also with the colder weather, you'll be running your heat much more. If possible, try to have your air ducts cleaned out. Any dirt or dust that may have accumlated will be flowing through the house now for all the breathe

Check Sump Pump - If you have one in your basement, check it out, make sure there are no leaks and that it still functions properly. Pour in some water until the pump kicks in.

~Ravi Shah, South Jersey Real Estate

Here is the real estate market update on Moorestown, NJ for the month of December 2006.  Moorestown, located in Burlington County, minutes from the Betsy Ross & Ben Franklin Bridges is home to many historic sites dating back to the 1800s.  Mixed in with the old world charm are much newer high end developments as you'll see in the market activity.  

In summary, there were 7 homes that went under contract (Pending) and 12 that settled. 

Some of the highlights are as follows:

• Things were busy around Lenola this month with 4 homes selling with an avg. price of $249k
• One home went in each of North Riding, Northwest Estates & Timbercroft for an average of $640k
• Inverness Dr. in Laurel Creek sold for $575k
• The highest seller went to a home in Peachtree Point for $1.5M followed by one on Riverton Rd for $1.15M

If you are interested in more information on Moorestown or other towns in South Jersey, please email me, call me at (856) 914-4853 or you can Search Homes for Sale at my website.  

Based on information from Trend for the month of December 2006

Here is an update on what's going on with Delran residential real estate.  Delran is located in Burlington County, minutes from the Betsy Ross & Ben Franklin Bridges leading into Philly.  More information on Delran can be found on the Delran Community Website. 

In summary, there were: 74 active listings, 4 went under contract (Pending) and 10 settled. 

Pending Details:

• Swedes Run - Listing Price of $315,000
• Grande - Listing Price of $459,900
• Summerhill - 2 with an Avg. List Price of $252,000

Sold Details:

• Millside Heights - $317,500
• Summerhill - 2 with an Avg. Sold Price of $242,500
• Conrow Rd - $170,000 (Fixer Upper)
• Tenby Chase - 2 with an Avg. Price of $359,950
• There were 4 other in the Delcrest / River Rd area with an Avg Price of $214,475

For a relatively smaller town (approx. 7 square miles) there is a subdivision to meet most needs and price ranges.  New Construction, Established Single Family homes, Condos & Townhomes, you can find it here.  If you are interested in more information on Delran or other towns in South Jersey, please email me, call me at (856) 914-4853 or you can Search Homes for Sale at my website.  

~Ravi Shah

Based on information from Trend for the month of December 2006