A New Jersey town agreed to spend $13.4 million to preserve 50 acres once eyed for dense housing

Denville Township in Morris County, New Jersey, has completed the purchase of a 17-acre parcel, beginning a $13.4 million land preservation project that will permanently protect about 50 acres that had once been considered for dense housing development. The first deal secures land at the corner of Diamond Spring Road and Pocono Road, one of the township's main intersections. Under an agreement between township officials and property owner Springpoint Realty, the town plans to complete the purchase of another 33-acre parcel in October 2026. Together, the properties will turn a former private institutional campus into a large area of public parkland, sports facilities and protected open space.Coverage from local broadcaster WRNJ Radio and community news outlet My Paper Online, along with transaction records from the Morris County Board of County Commissioners, describes the project as one of the biggest environmental and historic preservation efforts in Denville's history. The deal also ends earlier plans for high-density housing that emerged after the property was sold by its religious owners in 2022.First parcel secured at major intersectionThe first 17-acre parcel covers the north...