The township says it acquired 17 acres and expects to close on another 33 in October. Earlier county records described a 57.29-acre project, leaving the final boundary in need of clarification.
DENVILLE, NJ – Denville has completed the first closing in its effort to turn the former St. Francis property and adjoining recreation land into permanently protected public open space.
The township said Aug. 28 that it acquired the first 17 acres at Diamond Spring and Pocono roads. A second closing, expected in October, would add approximately 33 acres containing historic barns, athletic fields and festival grounds, bringing the project described in the new announcement to roughly 50 acres.
The acquisition is supported by the Morris County Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, New Jersey Green Acres and Denville’s Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund, according to the township announcement.
The first closing matters because earlier announcements described contracts and expected transfers, not completed public ownership. Morristown Minute reported in May that Denville expected to take ownership in July. The first transfer instead closed in late August, and the second remains pending.
The stated acreage is now smaller
The new total does not match the public description used when the project received county support. In November 2025, Morris County recommended a $5.7 million grant for 57.29 acres. A May 2026 county announcement again described 17 acres at the former St. Francis site and 40 acres at 18 Pocono Road.
The Aug. 28 township announcement describes the second parcel as 33 acres rather than 40. It does not include a revised parcel map or explain the seven-acre difference. Until the second closing documents are public, the defensible description is that 17 acres have closed and the township expects the overall acquisition described in its latest release to total approximately 50 acres.
The township envisions keeping the athletic fields in active use, adding walking trails and passive recreation on the former St. Francis tract, and possibly restoring the barns as a community center. Those are plans, not completed improvements, and no construction schedule was announced.
The site was once part of the Glover estate and later became associated with the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother and the St. Francis Residential Community. Most institutional buildings were demolished after the property was sold in 2022, while the barns, fields and wooded areas remained.
The next measurable step is the second property closing expected in October. That transaction should establish the final acreage, parcel boundaries and the full public cost of the preserved land.