Report: Part of Orange Lawn Tennis Club for Sale

This article originally ran on June 15.

A parcel of land next to the Orange Lawn Tennis Club at N. Ridgewood Road in South Orange is being sold and could be developed into multi-family housing.

A 4-acre piece of land owned by the club is being marketed by Weichert Commercial Brokerage Inc., according to an article in National Real Estate Investor.

"The club is having some financial challenges and they are looking for ways to bring in revenue," South Orange trustee Mark Rosner said. 

The land is zoned Planned Residential Cluster B (PRC-B), which permits multi-family development including single-family dwellings, townhouses and flats, as well as public parks, playgrounds and private recreation facilities, according to South Orange's vision plan. The zoning allows for a maximum density of 6.6 units per acre; 20 percent of the units must consist of affordable housing.

The Orange Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1880, six years after lawn tennis was introduced into the United States. One of the  founders, Richard Sears, was the first U.S. singles champion, and the club was one of 19 that banded together to form the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) to standardize the rules of the game. 

The club is on 16 acres of property, and has 10 grass and 10 Har-Tru artificial courts, plus a clubhouse dating back to 1848.  

Patch has reached out to Village President Alex Torpey for comment and we will update this article with further information.