Thornwood

Thornwood is a quiet, peacefully wooded hamlet located about 32 miles from Midtown Manhattan that gives residents plenty of space to grow and enjoy a slower pace to life. “It’s got a small-town feel,” says Jeanne Beckley, an associate real estate broker at Howard Hanna Rand Realty and the top real estate agent in Mount Pleasant. “We have a town center, we’ve got a town pool, a community center.” Thornwood is the tight-knit type of community where you know and look out for your neighbors and where big community events are commonplace, a facet of life that residents are happy to have found. They also enjoy Thornwood’s central location, which makes driving outside of the neighborhood simple. “It’s just so easy to get to any highway,” Beckley says. “We’re very close to White Plains, 45 minutes to the city.” Just 2 miles from the center of the neighborhood, commuters can also hop on the train at Hawthorne Station, which will reach Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan in about an hour and 20 minutes.

Thornwood’s homes often have decent yard space, allowing them to sit a little further back from the road. In fact, another draw to the neighborhood for many potential homebuyers is the size of the properties in some parts of Thornwood. “Two sections of Thornwood, Stonegate and Rolling Hills, that are acre zoning,” Beckley says. “So a lot of people come for those two areas because they like the large properties and the privacy.” These larger properties mean that Thornwood’s home prices tend to be a little higher than those in nearby Hawthorne and Valhalla, typically falling between $550,000 and $1.5 million. Beckley says that the average home price in the neighborhood, though, is likely around $700,000. A perfect storm of high demand to live in Thornwood and low inventory means that homes in the community sell quickly. “I just put a house on the market today,” Beckley says. “It’s actually very close to Thornwood, it’s Valhalla, but it’s still in Mount Pleasant schools. We put it on, it’ll start selling on Saturday, we’ll probably have multiple offers and be done by Tuesday. It’s just such low inventory that we still have bidding wars. So sellers are still getting top dollar if they’re priced right.”

Thornwood is served by the Mount Pleasant Central School District, which has an A on Niche and is among its list of top 50 best places to teach in New York with an overall student-to-teacher ratio of 10:1. Students attend Hawthorne Elementary School from kindergarten through second grade and Columbus Elementary School from third through fifth grade before moving on to Westlake Middle School and Westlake High School. Athletics are popular at the school, especially football, but students can also participate in extracurricular activities like book club, honor societies and photography club.

As Thornwood’s only park, James M. Carroll Park is a popular spot for a walk around the lake, a day of fishing or letting children run around and have fun on the playground. Residents often pick up groceries at ShopRite or ACME Markets, and Beckley says that Thornwood’s two shopping centers make life easy by providing everything residents could possibly need. Locals have a healthy array of options when it comes to treating themselves to a meal at a restaurant. Pizza places are a dime a dozen in the neighborhood, including the popular Silvio’s Restaurant & Pizzeria. Residents also enjoy eating at Casa Rina, which Beckley says has been there “forever,” getting breakfast at Thornwood Coach Diner or meeting up with friends at The Barley House for beer and burgers in a fun atmosphere.

Adding to the community’s tight-knit small-town atmosphere, Thornwood holds regular events, including a fall festival and a popular car show every Saturday during the summer. “Everyone comes with their old cars,” Beckley says. “It’s really popular event, people love it. Everyone talks to each other, and it’s a great way to meet people, too.” The communities of Thornwood, Hawthorne and Valhalla also come together to celebrate larger events like the incredibly popular Mount Pleasant Day. “That one’s only been going on for about five years or so, but it’s very popular,” Beckley says. “They close an entire street, Commerce Street, and they have all kinds of activities for kids. They have all the local businesses come and there are giveaways and raffles. And our office participates, of course.” Less than 4 miles away, the Kensico Dam also hosts frequent events, from a winter festival and a beer festival to weekend ethnic festivals featuring endless food. The dam’s biggest event is its Fourth of July fireworks show, which Beckley says draws people from all across Westchester. Thornwood’s large properties, great schools and proximity to the city are often what draw potential homebuyers in at first, but it’s the neighborhood’s small-town feel and frequent community events that truly make it stand out. It’s at these events that residents have the chance to socialize and find a place in Thornwood’s tight-knit community, helping it truly feel like home.

Written By

Christina Norwood

Photography Contributed By

Leon Cato

Video By

Grace Kim