Living in Fox Chase
Fox Chase sits off Meadow Ridge Road at the north end of Galloway Township, laid out along Meadow Ridge, Driftwood Court, Chesapeake Drive and Clearwater Way just south of East Moss Mill Road. The buildings went up between 1982 and 1989 in low-rise clusters, identified by building number, and the homes are one-bedroom, one-bath layouts running right around 666 square feet on a single level. This is the most affordable way into Smithville, and the location is most of the point.
Before anything else, here is the thing about Fox Chase that will save you real money and real confusion: there are two separate associations here, not one. One covers the grounds and trash for Fox Chase itself. The other is the Towne of Historic Smithville Community Association, which covers the pools and the clubhouse and is billed separately, on a different schedule. Both apply to every home. And because the MLS has only one field for an association fee, agents fill it in differently — some enter the Fox Chase amount, some enter the Smithville amount. That means the fee shown on one Fox Chase listing may be a completely different thing from the fee shown on another, and comparing them tells you nothing.
So ask for both, in writing, before you write an offer, and make sure your lender has both when they run your numbers. A buyer who budgets off the figure on the listing sheet can find themselves surprised at closing, and a lender working from the wrong number can qualify you for something you cannot comfortably carry. This is not a knock on the community — the arrangement is perfectly normal for a development that sits inside a larger master association. It is simply invisible unless somebody tells you, and no portal is going to.
What that second fee buys is the reason to be here. Fox Chase residents get the full Towne of Historic Smithville amenity set: two large swimming pools, a clubhouse, fitness facilities, playgrounds and walking paths through the community. That is a deeper amenity package than anything else at this price point in Galloway, and it comes attached to the Village of Smithville itself — the colonial-style shopping village with more than sixty shops and restaurants, seasonal festivals and events, all of it walkable from these buildings rather than a drive away. If you want a place where you can leave the car parked on a Saturday, this is the one in the township.
The homes are small and they are better appointed than the square footage suggests. A wood-burning fireplace is standard here, which in a one-bedroom condo is close to unheard of and completely changes how the living space feels in February. Most homes carry a walk-in closet, several with cedar. Central air, electric water heaters, public water and sewer. First-floor homes give you no stairs; upper-floor homes give you nobody above you. End units pick up light on an extra side. Parking is one assigned exterior space and there are no garages. Pets are permitted with restrictions — confirm the current rules against your own animal rather than assuming.
Condition varies widely across the community, and on floor plans this consistent that is essentially the whole story on value. Some homes here have been renovated end to end with new cabinetry, stainless appliances, rebuilt baths and new mechanicals; others are close to original. This is a practical fit for a first-time buyer, for someone scaling down who wants to be able to walk somewhere, and for an owner who wants a low-maintenance base near the shore. You are minutes from Stockton University, AtlantiCare and the Garden State Parkway, with Atlantic City and the beaches a short drive. To compare against other attached homes in the township, see Club Condos, Society Hill and Woods at Great Creek, or work through every one at once on the Galloway Township condos page.
