Cherry Hill's newest parks are going up on land that once held private clubs and farm fields. That includes a failed swim club on Deland Avenue, a former Masonic lodge beside Route 295, a century-old family farm at Evesham and Springdale roads, and now a deed restriction on a swim club that is still open. These sites are where the next round of playgrounds, trails and footbridges is coming from. The newest agreement, at Downs Farm, shows the Township acting before a club fails rather than after.

A dozen clubs from the building boom

70and73.com reported in September that about a dozen private swim clubs are spread across Cherry Hill. Many were built by housing developers during the Township's heavy growth of the 1950s and 1960s. The same report describes whole neighborhoods packing the clubs on weekends and sending children there for swim lessons and, later, swim teams. Some membership clubs are less popular than they used to be and have run into money trouble.

Those clubs sit on sizable parcels in the middle of residential streets. When one closes, the land doesn't automatically turn into open space. Kingston was the first case.

Kingston set the template

Kingston Estates Swim Club closed in 2020 after more than 60 years, and a bank took over the property. Mayor David Fleisher told 70and73.com that the land was zoned institutional and could have been developed in the middle of the neighborhood. The Township stepped in and bought it for a park and open space.

The result is Kingston Park on Deland Avenue. In August 2025, 70and73.com put its estimated cost at $5 million and described plans for inclusive playground equipment and a walking trail. The Township also owns an old street hockey court nearby. It is being rebuilt and folded into the former club property, so the finished park will be bigger than the pool lot alone.

In mid-August, Fleisher said the park would open in about 60 days. That timeline lands right about now. As of October 12, we have not seen a public opening announcement, so if you're planning a first visit, check the Township's site before you go.

Downs Farm moves first

The September deal with Downs Farm Swim Club takes what the Township learned at Kingston and applies it to a club that is still open.

The trigger was a footbridge. It crosses a stream on club property and connects the Downs Farm neighborhood to Haddonfield-Berlin Road. Fleisher said the club could no longer afford to maintain it, and it closed. Here is how the agreement works, according to 70and73.com's report:

1. The club conveys part of its acreage to the Township at no charge.
2. The bridge becomes municipal property, and the Township takes over replacing and maintaining it.
3. A deed restriction on the club property prevents it from ever being developed, even if the club closes.

Fleisher told the outlet that the restriction was modeled on the Kingston experience and that the club is pleased with the arrangement. His description of the bridge, as quoted by 70and73.com:

"The entire neighborhood uses it for pedestrian access."

The replacement is moving now. The Township posted a bid solicitation for a prefabricated pedestrian bridge on October 6, with bids due October 16, 2026. The September article said a new bridge is expected "by next summer," which means summer 2027. Treat that as a forecast, not a fixed date.

Kingston cost the Township a purchase after the club had already closed. At Downs Farm, the Township gets the bridge land for free, and the club land is preserved while families are still swimming there.

Where each site stands this fall

Fleisher called the current group of projects a "trifecta," in an August interview with 70and73.com. Downs Farm followed a month later.

The Brookfield parcel is bounded by Haddonfield-Berlin, Ashbrook and Oakdale roads and Route 295. Its 90-day outer window runs to mid-November, so it may be the last of the group to open this year. No official park name has been announced.

A working farm off Evesham Road

Holly Ravine is the most unusual piece of the plan. The Township spent $3,859,000 to preserve the farm as open space. Fleisher's plan is to lease about 9.5 acres to a farmer to grow crops and open the remaining 12 or so acres for trails and hiking in the ravine. Former Mayor John C. Gilmour Jr. began farming this land about 100 years ago. The two Gilmour family farmhouses on the property were demolished earlier this year. The Shoppes at Holly Ravine, which opened in 1990, sit on former farm acreage at the same intersection.

"We are on the verge of accomplishing something virtually unheard of in New Jersey," Fleisher told 70and73.com, referring to a working farm in a mature suburb. A resolution to authorize bidding on the agricultural lease was on the August 17 Council agenda. The Township's notice to bidders then set a minimum annual bid of $500, with sealed bids due September 11 and an award expected at Council on September 14 or 28. A $500 annual minimum on land that cost nearly $3.9 million shows the lease isn't meant to earn money. The point is to keep the fields planted. The October 13 Council agenda lists a resolution awarding the agricultural lease to Springdale Farm Market, Inc., so the Holly Ravine fields could have a farmer once Council votes. We have not seen a date for the trails to open to the public.

Croft Farm shows what this can look like

Cherry Hill already runs one historic farm property, and it is hosting a free public day this coming weekend. The Croft Farm Harvest Festival is Sunday, October 18, from noon to 4 p.m. at 100 Bortons Mill Road, off Brace Road. According to the Township calendar, admission is free, with food, drinks and crafts for sale.

The Kay-Evans House on the same property is about to get a careful restoration. 70and73.com reported that the plans call for restoring the windows and porch, cleaning the exterior stucco, improving drainage, repairing and painting the interiors, and improving the basement foundation. The project's $1.45 million budget comes from three sources:

• $638,286 from a state historic preservation grant
• $150,000 from a Camden County grant
• $660,914 in Township capital funds

Outside grants cover a little over half of the cost. Council approved a preservation contract in July, but we have not seen a published construction schedule. Festival visitors will see the house as it stands before the work starts.

Still Park and Barclay Farmstead

Still Park adds a playground upgrade to the list. You reach it from Main and Merchant streets, about a tenth of a mile off Chapel Avenue. A Township project notice described Phase II as new Little Tikes play equipment with poured-in-place surfacing, starting on or about June 1, 2026. A September draft of the Township's annual community development report listed Phase I as complete and Phase II as underway.

Barclay Farmstead at 209 Barclay Lane closes out the season with the Friends of Barclay Farmstead Holiday House, a house tour running November 27 through December 6, 2026.

At The Colleen Hadden Group, we follow how projects like Kingston Park, the Downs Farm bridge and the Holly Ravine fields shape the streets around them. If you'd like to know what a new park or a deed-restricted club near your street could mean for your home, we're glad to talk it through over a personalized seller strategy session or a guided town tour.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.