Lawrence Township

Lawrence Township, a sprawling area in Mercer County, has tight community ties with its beloved local eateries, lush outdoor green space and great public and private schools.

The township is home to several communities like Lawrenceville, which is the name many residents use to refer to the area as a whole. With its vast size, you will see a mix old and new home styles like colonials, Cape Cods, Victorians and condos. "One of the most important parts of Lawrence is it had a diverse housing stock like 55-and-older communities, condos, town homes, single family and more rural properties," says Judson Henderson, broker-owner of Callaway Henderson Sotheby's International Realty. Unlike its neighboring town of Princeton, Lawrence Township has more affordable housing prices and lower taxes. You can find a two-bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse condo for $275,000, a Cape Cod with four bedrooms and two bathrooms for $590,000, or an eight-bedroom, five-bathroom stone estate home with several fireplaces and a library for $998,000. Lawrence real estate ramped up during the COVID pandemic and "part of it was the affordability," Henderson says. "Living here is a very affordable way to live right next to Princeton." Residents also move in because of the job prospects. Lawrence Township is home to the headquarters of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Research & Development Division and the headquarters of Education Testing Service, a private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization.

While kids can attend the Lawrence Township Public School District, there are also a few private schools. Right in the township's center is the Lawrenceville School, a college preparatory boarding school. One student house called The Circle is a national historic landmark designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, a landscape architect whose most famous work is Central Park. Other private schools include Princeton Junior School, Saint Ann's School and Notre Dame High School. If you choose public schools, your children will attend Lawrence High School, where they can participate in many unique school activities like gospel choir, baking club and knitting and crocheting club. Lawrence High has an overall A- rating on Niche. The community shares the township with Rider University. However, many students commute to the campus rather than living there.

Feel like dining out? Near the Lawrenceville School is a cluster of local restaurants on the township's three-block Main Street, like Vidalia Restaurant. You can enjoy pasta, meat and fish dishes on the garden patio or in Vidalia's cozy dining room. "The village of Lawrenceville has a great little main street with some good restaurants," Henderson says. "Residents absolutely adore the Gingered Peach," a local bakery with a seasonal menu of cakes, breads and croissants. Acacia NJ, an American eatery, has a seasonal menu.

When the weather is warm and the sun is shining, residents are out and about at one of the township's many parks or farms. On Main Street is Weeden Park, which hosts weekly summer concerts and dinners from local restaurants. Central Park is 107 acres wide and the largest in Lawrence Township. At Central Park, you can play baseball, kick around a soccer ball or practice your tennis swing. You can walk around the lake under a shady trail at Colonial Lake Park. Or pick your apples and other fruit at Terhune Orchards. The Lawrence-Hopewell Trail, a 22-mile biking loop that connects the two townships, cuts through Mercer Meadows, a 1,600-acre property with open woods and an enclosed dog park. During the summer months, cool off at one of the township's pools like The Willows, a natural soft-water pool, the Lawrenceville Swimming Association or the Ben Franklin Swim Club. Join Cobblestone Creek Country Club, where you can play golf and tennis or relax poolside.

If you want a quiet suburban neighborhood where you can live, work and play, come to Lawrence Township.

Written By

Jess Nocera

Photography Contributed By

Mitchell Birnbaum