Brookrace Offers 86 Luxury Homes Next To Nature Preserve In Mendham Township

MENDHAM TOWNSHIP, N.J. – (March 19, 2015) –Brookrace, a custom-designed community of 86 luxury homes on cul-de-sac streets, offers a unique and healthy lifestyle option in Mendham Township, N.J. Adjoining Brookrace is the 423-acre Schiff Nature Preserve, providing residents access to more than 10 miles of hiking and jogging trails as well as nature programs for all ages. Schiff Natural Lands Trust, Inc. owns 640 acres of preserved land and conservation easements in this tranquil area. Brookrace homeowners enjoy boating, fishing and skating on the private, 20-acre Lake Therese, which marks the entry to the community. The Pavilion at Brookrace is a gathering place for picnics and neighborhood events.

Underground wiring adds to the natural aesthetics of the streetscape in Brookrace. The community features public water and sewer, which is not the norm in Mendham Township. The Mendhams boast highly ranked schools at all grade levels, and New Jersey Transit stations are within a few miles at Peapack, Gladstone, Bernardsville and Morristown, as well as convenient access to Interstates 287, 78 and 80. For more information about the Mendhams, visit www.MendhamMoves.com.

Brookrace resident Linda Kenny, who recently listed her home for sale, looks back fondly on her family’s time in the community. “The last 14 years in Brookrace have gone by in a flash. We have raised a family of four children in a pristine natural environment within the Schiff Nature Preserve with access to top schools, arts, sports and enrichment,” said Kenny. “Brookrace is a safe and welcoming community for all ages that will be hard to replicate. It will be missed as we seek to move out of state closer to our adult children and their families.”

Kenny has listed her home on Brookrace Drive with June Cantwell of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Mendham. A prime example of the type of luxury living available in Brookrace, the six-bedroom, four-and-two-half-bath home is priced at $1.28 million. There will be an open house at the 14-room home on Sunday, March 22 from 1-4 p.m.

This classic, Georgian-style Colonial on a cul-de-sac is rich in upgrades, including crown moldings, three fireplaces (located in the great room, library and living room), hardwood floors, outdoor lighting, easy-care landscaping, a custom stone patio, security system, full home intercom, sprinklers and a back-up generator. The property, more than an acre in size, features a designer diving pool.

The home’s lower level offers a recreation room, kitchenette, half-bath and ample storage. There is a second level suite with a separate entrance overlooking the pool and patio. Ample parking is available, including an attached, three-car garage.

The scenic Brookrace area is dotted with historic markers referencing George Washington and Revolutionary War happenings. There is also a marker for the sawmill at McVickers Brook, which was typical of early land use in the heavily forested area. Its rich history includes the “Gilded Age” social scene in the grand mansions of nearby “Millionaires’ Mountain.” Having been part of these social fetes and inspired by the beautiful land, Colonel Richard H. Williams bought 560 acres for a manor house and barns as a wedding gift for his son beginning in 1912. In 1914-18, “Brookrace,” a Colonial Revival and French Eclectic manor, was built on the site. Subsequently, the property was purchased by the Mortimer L. Schiff family and given to the Boy Scouts of America in 1932. The Scouts used the complex as a retreat and an international training facility for leaders. AT&T later purchased the Schiff complex for a retreat before selling it to a developer in the 1990s under the concept of cluster zoning, which designated hundreds of acres as permanent open space.

“I grew up on a large tract of land,” said Cantwell. “When I moved to the New York tri-state area, I sadly missed the open spaces and trails through the woods until I learned about Brookrace in 1995. I first walked our dog through Brookrace, around the lake up the drive. The trails winding through the Schiff Meadow passed the grove of whispering pines and the woods reminded me of those long walks years before. I felt I had come home again. My leisure walks (called meditation walks these days) always refreshed. I can not go back to my childhood home - that is now a congested development - but I can always walk the trails of Brookrace and take in the beautiful sunsets over Lake Terese and the Great Meadow of Schiff that I always find uplifting in a special way.”

For more information about homes available in Brookrace, contact Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Mendham at 973-543-2552, or visit the office at 106A East Main Street in Mendham. The office is affiliated with Coldwell Banker Previewsâ International, a world leader in the marketing of luxury homes.