NJ home linked to several wars listed for sale 🏠 & site of Playboy Club🐰 officially sold

Happy Tuesday North Jersey!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend and a great Monday to start off their week. This past weekend, I took a trip to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, which was a super cool experience. Believe it or not, this was my first time ever visiting these landmarks. While I've been in New Jersey my whole life, I'm from South Jersey and my family doesn't love cities, so I just never ended up taking the trip.

It was also a crazy day for us to have visited the Statue of Liberty on Saturday because this is also the day there was an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, I think we can all agree that living through such tumultuous events that will be ingrained in our country's history is surreal.

Enough about that for now though, and let's get into something a bit more lighthearted with this week's real estate newsletter:

New business openings

Here are some new business openings in North Jersey:

• In West Caldwell, Spencer Savings Bank relocated to a new location, which opened earlier this month. The bank features drive-thru and interactive teller kiosk that allows customers to get self-service.
• Veterinary Dentistry Specialists have opened in Madison. The business offers advance dentistry and oral care services for dogs and cats.
• In Pine Brook, Energy Sensor and Play + Organic Café recently opened. The business offers an indoor children's playground for free play and birthday parties, special events and summer camps. There is also a fully organic café with juices, smoothies, coffee, tea and small bites.

Are you opening a new business in North Jersey, or know of one in your town? Or, know of a business closing in your area? Send your information and photos to business reporter Daniel Munoz at munozd@northjersey.com so we can include them in our next roundup.

Home linked to Civil War and Spanish-American War listed for sale

For this week's historic home for sale, David Zimmer walks us through the property at 147 Ralston Ave. in South Orange. Listed for $1.479 million in June, the home was owned in the 19th century by Henry W. Freeman, who was a leader in the National Guard of New Jersey during a nearly 50-year military career that included participation in both the Civil War and the Spanish-American War.

This eight-bedroom, four-bathroom shingled symmetrical home was fully renovated in 2006. Today, the property features a large porch with arches, a cantilevered second-floor bay window, stained glass windows and detailed woodwork. There is also a modern kitchen set around a large center island, a library and a primary ensuite bedroom with two fireplaces, a home office and a walk-in closet.

Apartments with 'luxury Zen atmosphere' opening in Jersey City

A new rental building offering a "luxury Zen atmosphere" and an eco-friendly environment in Jersey City is officially open for pre-leasing. One Grove, located at 215 Grove St., is a 200-unit luxury rental community with apartments from studios to three-bedroom units, ranging in price from $3,105 to $7,900 per month.

The rental community design consists of raw textures, organic materials, earthy hues and interior systems that meet performance standards under the LEED and EnergyStar programs. And each apartment will feature premium fixtures, high-end appliances and smart-home technologies. The building is also pet-friendly and approximately 30% of the building's units will have their own private outdoor spaces.

The building is also located just minutes away from the Hudson River waterfront, NY Waterway ferry terminals, the Newark Avenue Pedestrian Plaza and the Grove Street PATH Station.

Looking to buy a home? Here's how astronumerology can guide you

If you're not a spiritual person, the idea of astronumerology may seem far fetched. But what if I told you that it could actually help you buy a home? I spoke with world renowned numerologist and licensed real estate broker Jesse Kalsi, who said he uses astronumerology to help homebuyers — from first-timers to those looking to downsize — find a property that best matches their personal energy.

Using the Vedic tradition of numerology, which associates numbers with planets to make predictions, Kalsi said that the numbers one through nine are assigned a planet and corresponding energy. We all have our own set of numbers that are said to bring us more positive energy, which is based on things like our date of birth. Kalsi said that once homebuyers figure out what numbers are best for them, they should look for homes that have those numbers in their address, or some multiple of those numbers.

This is definitely a convoluted method, and involves a bit of time to determine how it works and what your personal numbers are. But it's worth looking into if you believe in the power of numbers and astrology, and would like to apply that to your home search.

Gallery of the week

For this week's gallery, we're going to take a look into North Jersey's past with some photos of the Playboy Club when it was open and operating in Vernon in 1972.

In March, I reported that Vernon Mayor Anthony Rossi announced that the eight-story building and deteriorating site of the former club had officially sold after years of failed deals. At the time, there were very little details available about the new owner and the plans for the site.

This past weekend, Rossi made another announcement that the sale was finalized and that the town's attorney's have deemed the transaction legal. The location, which was most recently known as Legends Resort & Country Club, was sold to an affiliate of Lockwood Hotels. The plan for the site calls for a 300-room internationally branded hotel, a world class "super spa," 150 residential condos and headline concerts, Rossi said.

Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.