NYT on a Lakewood Housing Development

I blogged a while ago about the attributes that make a home attractive to Orthodox homebuyers. The NY Times covers some of the same ground in an article in Sunday's Real Estate section, about a new housing development in Lakewood being marketed to Orthodox Jews:

The project, Pine River Village, is rising on a large, oblong plot originally owned by the college. The design of its houses, its layout and the amenities in its community buildings take Orthodox culture, beliefs and lifestyle into account, said Lloyd A. Rosenberg of DMR Architects, the firm hired by Somerset Development of Lakewood to take the idea forward.

Each kitchen will be kosher — that is, with two sets of appliances and sinks — and the community pool house will include a mikvah, for ritual baths taken by women, the architect said.

...He cited the work on Orthodox-friendly amenities like the kosher kitchen with two stoves, two sinks and two food preparation areas, and the barriers in the pool house that are meant to keep men and women from seeing one another. The dining rooms are designed to be larger than usual, the architects said, to accommodate family gatherings on the Sabbath and other holy days. The kitchens have breakfast nooks for smaller meals.

Each home was designed with space that could be used for religious study, Lloyd Rosenberg said. Larger homes will have spacious family rooms with built-in bookshelves and display nooks.

The two-story homes have master bedrooms on the first floor, with the option of installing an elevator. The master bedrooms are configured to comfortably accommodate two single beds, as is customary in Orthodox homes, Mr. Rosenberg said.

...The temple area is no more than a five-minute walk from any house in the community, he added.

Check it out.