Bedminster, N.J.: Horses, Golf and Presidential Visits - The New York Times

If the name Bedminster sounds familiar, perhaps that’s because the world’s most talked-about citizen is a part-time resident there.

Some refer to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster as the Summer White House, because President Trump regularly retreats there in the warmer months, enjoying the 535-acre property and grand brick house he bought in 2002 from the estate of the auto magnate John DeLorean. He opened a 36-hole golf course on the site two years later, and his daughter Ivanka married Jared Kushner there in 2009.

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NEW JERSEY

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MORRIS COUNTY

Bedminster

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Hamilton

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287

Bedminster

206

SOMERSET

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523

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By The New York Times

Aside from the whirring helicopters, the handful of protesters who regularly demonstrate near the public library and the longer lines at Dunkin’ Donuts when Mr. Trump and his security detail are in residence, the president’s visits have become routine for most of the residents of this 26-square-mile Somerset County township.

“We know when he’s coming to town, because the helicopters can be very loud over the houses, but it is short-lived,” said Mary Licata, a sales associate with Turpin Realtors, who left Bedminster in 2006 and moved back last year. “It doesn’t feel too intrusive. And people respect each other’s privacy here.”

Indeed, respecting neighbors’ privacy extends beyond the president in this horse-country township in central New Jersey, which is home to Steve Forbes, Robert Wood Johnson IV and other wealthy executives. Politicians and corporate leaders are drawn to Bedminster’s large farm estates and low property taxes, made possible by limited public services and the presence of sizable corporations like Verizon, AT&T and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.

But not all of Bedminster’s 8,165 residents are wealthy. More than a third of the township’s population lives in the Hills, a planned community built in the 1980s in response to the state’s Mount Laurel decisions, requiring New Jersey towns to provide more affordable housing. Of the more than 3,000 townhouses, condos and single-family houses that make up the Hills, about a fifth are designated for moderate- to low-income residents.

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Historic barns and white picket fences define the rural nature of much of Bedminster, which some residents say feels like being far from New Jersey.Credit...Laura Moss for The New York Times

Bedminster’s broad spectrum of housing offers buyers “a little bit of everything,” said Kathryn Barcellona, a resident and real estate agent with Coldwell Banker. “You can get high-end horsy properties, or older historic homes, or choose community living in the Hills.”

Finding something affordable doesn’t automatically limit one’s choices to the Hills. Kristen and Marcelo Dos Santos moved to Bedminster five years ago with their daughter, Sophia, renting a carriage house on a 56-acre farm for three years before deciding to buy a home. Ms. Dos Santos, who grew up helping her grandfather with beekeeping and fruit-tree farming, wasn’t interested in living in a planned community.

Instead, they found a three-bedroom, two-bathroom 1860s farmhouse on two acres, which they bought two years ago for $400,000. They spent another $100,000 installing a new kitchen and bathroom, and replacing ceilings, windows and wiring. Their house is one of five on an island between two branches of the Lamington River near the community of Pottersville, one of four historic sections of Bedminster.

Ms. Dos Santos, 43, an executive assistant at Atalanta food importers who keeps chickens and three goats, said she loves to sit on the front porch or walk around the island, taking in the natural beauty: “Your driveway might not be paved, and it will smell like horses when you open your windows, but you don’t have to be a millionaire to enjoy this way of life.”

What You’ll Find

Bedminster is about 44 miles west of New York City, with several major highways running through it. That central location appeals to commuters and to the many pharmaceutical and communication companies in central New Jersey, said Brad Newman, who was a pharmaceutical sales rep for 17 years before switching to real estate last year. He and his wife, Maegan, bought a three-bedroom townhouse in the Hills two years ago, for just under $400,000, to shorten his wife’s commute and to escape the maintenance that came with owning a three-acre property in Chester.

With three children under 8, he said, the Hills has proved to be a great place to live. “One thing about community living, your friends are your neighbors,” said Mr. Newman, 50, a sales associate with Weichert Realtors. “When the kids come home from school, they go across the street to be with their friends. You can walk to Starbucks and the grocery store, or to nature trails.”

While Bedminster lacks a central downtown, it has a number of shopping areas with restaurants and supermarkets, most in proximity to the Hills, which occupies 500 acres along a slope of Second Watchung Mountain, east of Route 202.

On the western side of the township, long roads, twisting rivers and dirt or gravel paths run past large farms that have estates set deep into the properties and horses grazing out front. In the mid-1990s, the township established 10-acre minimum zoning for much of this area. Open horse trails along easements run throughout this part of the township, and “on a nice day,” Ms. Barcellona said, “we wait for people on horses to pass.”

What You’ll Pay

In late December, there were 159 properties for sale, including 96 single-family homes and 63 condominiums, according to the Garden State Multiple Listing Service. The highest priced was a 15,755-square-foot, eight-bedroom, 13-bathroom house on 50 acres, built in 2017 and listed for $9.995 million. At the low end was a one-bedroom, one-bathroom, 530-square-foot condominium built in 1988, listed for $160,000. Typical prices at the Hills run from $400,000 to $700,000 for two- or three-bedroom units, with more expensive properties higher up on the slope.

The median sales price for a single-family home in Bedminster during the first nine months of 2019 was $675,000, down by almost 11 percent from the same period in 2018, when the median sales price was $758,000, according to the New Jersey Realtors association. Prices held steady in the condominium and townhouse market, with a median sales price through September 2019 of $315,000, compared to $316,500 in the same period of 2018.

The Vibe

Outdoor activities abound in Bedminster, with some of the state’s best trout fishing in the Lamington River; several horse farms where riders can take lessons, lease or board horses; and a network of public horse trails. Besides the Trump National Golf Course, there is another exclusive private course, Hamilton Farm Golf Club, home to the United States Equestrian Team.

Straddling Bedminster, Peapack-Gladstone and Far Hills is Natirar, a 404-acre property bought in 2003 by Somerset County Parks from the estate of Hassan II, the King of Morocco, who died in 1999; it includes hiking trails, fishing and a resort hotel, spa and restaurant complex.

Shoppers are about 15 minutes from the Bridgewater Commons mall, while the best night life can be found in Somerville, about 20 minutes away.

The Schools

Students from prekindergarten through eighth grade attend Bedminster Township Public School, where 526 were enrolled in 2017-18, all of whom participated in music and performing-arts programs.

On the state PARCC assessment during the last school year, 74 percent of Bedminster students met or exceeded standards in English language arts, compared with an average of 57 percent statewide; in math, 59 percent met or exceeded standards, compared with an average of 45 percent statewide.

High school students go to Bernards High School in neighboring Bernardsville, where about 850 students are enrolled in ninth through 12th grade. On 2017-18 SAT tests, students scored an average of 605 in reading and 620 in math, compared with statewide averages of 542 and 543.

Private school options include the Purnell School, a boarding school for high school girls, and Far Hills Country Day School, for prekindergarten through eighth grade.

The Commute

Bedminster has no direct train service to New York City, so commuters must drive to stations in Peapack-Gladstone or Far Hills. Trains from either station take 83 to 122 minutes and require switching in Newark or Summit. A one-way ticket is $15.25 from Far Hills and $16 from Peapack-Gladstone; a monthly pass is $445 from Far Hills and $451 from Peapack-Gladstone.

Lakeland Bus Lines provides bus service from the Hills to the Port Authority Bus Terminal along Route 78; the trip takes 71 minutes and costs $13.75 one-way and $118.50 for a 10-trip pass.

The History

In 1778, about 1,000 soldiers encamped in Bedminster under the command of General Henry Knox, who supervised the construction of the Pluckemin Artillery Cantonment, considered the country’s first military academy. None of the buildings remain, but an archaeological dig in the 1980s uncovered more than a million artifacts from the period.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/01/realestate/bedminster-nj-horses-golf-and-presidential-visits.html

2020-01-01 10:01:00Z
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