THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 3, 1994 TAG: 9409010445
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By Mary Ellen Miles, Special to Real Estate Weekly
LENGTH: Long : 136 lines
Campostella is a neighborhood rich in memories. The first houses in the neighborhood were built in the early 1900s. The most recent was built in 1992, on land where another house once stood. The area sits near the Campostella Bridge and Riverside Memorial Cemetery, is filled with many churches and ancient trees and is home to more than 1,000 pieces of commercial property and private homes.
Dorothy Beaman was born in Campostella, moved away as a young adult, and returned with her husband and two daughters in 1956, when they custom-built their two-bedroom, one-bathroom house on two lots. They later added a screened porch and an upstairs bedroom. The house is nested in a lush, colorful yard, with a Japanese maple tree, plentiful flowers, shrubs and a row of pink crape myrtles lining the street.
When the Beamans moved in, most of the houses were already built. The neighbor had no streetlights, no paved streets and mail service was at the local pharmacy. She recalls with a laugh that when the street's new light was put in, the neighbors gathered there at night ``just because they could,'' she says. The Beamans chose Campostella as their home, because Dorothy Beaman had a sister and a friend in the area. They chose their specific lots because they were close to the bus stop. The area was isolated then, unless the family had an automobile, so living near a bus route was a necessity. ``Then, after we bought the lots, the bus stopped changed, we had to walk all the way to Campostella and Wilson Roads to catch the bus,'' she said.
There were no apartments in the neighborhood then, and people tended their yards and kept up their homes, Beaman said. Many original owners were living in their homes when the Beamans moved in. Few original owners or families are left, she said, and ``young people don't seem to want the old houses.'' And the older people have trouble keeping up the larger homes. So, sections of the neighborhood have fallen into disrepair, although many owners still love and tend their homes and neighborhood the best they can.
Some residents participate in the area's civic league, which began in 1952, or the American Legion, which has a building in the neighborhood. Over the years, the civic league has been instrumental in getting sidewalks and streetlights put in, and streets paved. The league's current projects include cleaning the streets, maintaining bushes and trees, getting the city to maintain its property, and getting more street lighting and stop signs. The league has also joined a coalition with surrounding neighborhoods to work together for solutions to shared problems.
The league also works with the Norfolk police through the Police Assisted Community Enforcement program, said Ulysses T. Hatchett, vice president of the civic league and coalition. The goal is to get the community involved in crime prevention.
Dorothy Beaman recalls the changes in the neighborhood through the years, and says she stays because of her love for the neighborhood, her friends and her church.
``I love my neighbors, we've been friends for years, and we all look out for each other. We're trying to keep the neighborhood as nice as we can - we do whatever it takes.''
Which is what Dorothy has been doing for a long time. She mows the lawn on the vacant adjacent lot. She bought and planted the mature pink crape myrtles on her street.
``I wouldn't think of moving. As long as I'm able, I plan to stay,'' she says.
Hatchett, a retired government worker, bought his family's three-bedroom, one-bathroom house, built in 1939, for $12,000 in 1965. It's now assessed at $43,670. The Hatchetts have done quite a bit of renovation. New ceilings were put in, kitchen and bathrooms remodeled, a den and wharf added, the porch rebuilt, and aluminum siding added. Their house sits on about six lots, with a finger of the Elizabeth River in the back yard. The yard is also filled with a variety of foliage - two pecan trees, a persimmon, and fig and mulberry bushes. The river offers crabbing, clamming, fishing and boating to the Hatchetts and their neighbors.
``If anyone has been away from here 10 to 15 years, they wouldn't know how to get around,'' Hatchett said. ``The Campostella Bridge used to be a wooden drawbridge,'' he said. Many businesses have come and gone, and they continue to be torn down because of the widening of both Indian River and Wilson Roads. ``This is also a good thing, because our property values will go up,'' Hatchett said, Unfortunately, Campostella has no convenient grocery stores or drugstores.
``You have to go several miles just to buy a loaf of bread. I think that seems really bad for an urban area,'' Hatchett said.
Jeff Countess, Realtor with GSH, Chesapeake, reports the average current listing for the area is $46,000. He says the neighborhood is great for first-time homebuyers who don't want high house payments.
Carol W. Powell's three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom brick house, one of the area's newest, was built in 1985. ``I was drawn to the area because my aunt (a neighborhood resident then) saw the house being built and thought I might like it.'' she said. She moved into the house in 1986. Her impressions of the neighborhood were that it was nice, quiet, peaceful and stable, with ``a high population of the elderly,'' who have lived there for years.
Hatchett sums up positive aspects of the community by saying, ``Most of the people are friendly, we seem to look out for one another, we have a neighborhood watch, through the civic league, and we strive to keep the area drug free.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Lawrence Jackson
Ulysses Hatchett, vice president of the neighborhood civic league,
bought his three-bedroom home on Olinger Avenue in 1965.
ABOVE: The Hatchett home sits on about six lots, with a finger of
the Elizabeth River in the back yard. The river offers crabbing,
fishing and boating.
LEFT: Dorothy Beaman, at home in her kitchen, was born in
Campostella. She returned with her family in 1956.
B\W photo
Dorothy Beaman's Campostella home is nested in a lush, colorful
yard, with a Japanese maple tree, plentiful flowers, shrubs and a
row of pink crape myrtles lining the street.
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Public Schools: Campostella Elementary, Lafayette Middle School,
and Lake Taylor High School.
Shopping Areas: Military Circle and Greenbrier Malls are within
10 minutes by car.
Recreation: The Campostella Community Center offers a basketball
court and playground equipment in a grassy, wooded area within the
neighborhood.
Assessments: The city assessors office reports the range of
assessments at $7,000 to $170,520.
FOR SALE
A sampling of current listings:
At 1617 Colon Ave., a three-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow, built
in 1920, is listed at $50,000.
At 1302 Hatton St., a three-bedroom, one-bathroom Colonial, built
in 1916, is listed at $55,000.
At 908 Roseclair St., a three-bedroom, one-bathroom Colonial,
built in 1915, is listed at $52,900.
SOLD
At 911 Roseclair St., a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house sold
for $51,000 last October, after being on the market for 17 days.
by CNB