THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 11, 1995 TAG: 9503140484
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BRENDA HARRIS, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
A bit of country can be found in a very suburban part of Chesapeake, just across the Virginia Beach line. Norfolk Highlands takes its name from its reputation as the highest land around.
Residents say that even after a heavy rain, the water doesn't hang around forming puddles in the yards.
Tucked away off busy Indian River Road, Norfolk Highlands is bordered by the Indian River, an estuarial arm of the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River. Property at the western end of the subdivision slopes down to the water. The eastern boundary is South Military Highway.
The city assessor's office includes nearly 2,000 properties in Norfolk Highlands. There is an eclectic mix of housing, ranging from 1940-era bungalows to duplexes to new houses valued at over $120,000. Many homeowners have added garages, and on a warm day residents work on cars, do some home repair tasks or tending to yards and gardens.
According to Alan Price, an agent with Womble Realty who has been involved in the sale of more than 100 properties in Norfolk Highlands, this is a solid blue-collar neighborhood. Most houses contain three bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, and have 1,200 to 1,400 square feet.
Many families move in when they are just starting out, and as their families outgrow their starter homes, they move out to the Greenbrier or Great Bridge areas of Chesapeake. Despite this transiency, a substantial number of homeowners have lived here since the 1940s and 1950s.
Horse stables existed until just a few years ago, when new housing replaced them. Recent construction is evident in several parts of the neighborhood, ranging from duplexes to small starter homes to custom-built two-stories. This variety creates for an interesting mix of homes, making the area nothing like the typical cookie-cutter suburban subdivision found so commonly in Hampton Roads.
Many older homes have 100-by-150-foot lots. There are no sidewalks, which makes the front yards appear even larger. But plenty of mature trees grace the lots, making appropriate streets named Elm, Willow, Laurel and Myrtle.
Dick and Lois Harris have lived in their three-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath brick ranch on Chestnut Avenue since 1964. They have added a new roof, den, and detached garage. Dick Harris, who has operated a downtown Norfolk service station for 40 years and Lois, a homemaker and community volunteer, have two grown children.
``The construction of Route 44 took our house in Ingleside, so we had to move,'' says Dick Harris. ``It was like living in the country when we first moved here. This neighborhood has quiet, good people. It's been a good, family neighborhood to raise kids.''
Adds his wife, ``Young couples move into the duplexes across the street. We've enjoyed watching their babies grow.''
Ford and Hellen Miller live with their daughter in a three-bedroom, one-bath vinyl-sided home on Chestnut Avenue they built in 1950.
``I used to live in Broad Creek Village,'' Ford Miller says, ``and I moved to get out of the city. When I moved here, it was all woods and a dirt road. Although this area has really grown, it s still a quiet, safe neighborhood. There s no drinking, dope or stealing around here.''
There is no civic league in Norfolk Highlands, but oldtimers generally know each other, which provides a sense of community.
``The neighbors are there if you need them, but they don't impose themselves upon you. Many of the neighbors have been fairly permanent,'' says Irene Clark, who lives with her husband, Robert, in a brick three-bedroom, one-bath ranch they built in 1957. The couple has two grown daughters.
``When we moved out here, there were just trees and vacant dirt roads,'' recalls Irene Clark. ``We had to ride to the corner of Cornick and Chestnut Avenues just to get our mail.''
The area's central location provides commuters convenient access to Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Portsmouth. Two major area shopping centers, Military Circle Mall and Janaf Shopping Center in Norfolk and Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake, are just minutes away.
Indian River Road and South Military Highway offer numerous restaurants, shopping and recreational areas. Indian River Park adjoins the neighborhood.
Most of the neighborhood children attend Norfolk Highlands Primary School, with a few children in the southern area go to Georgetown Primary School. The primary schools contain grades kindergarten through third grade.
All children are zoned for Sparrow Road Intermediate School (grades four and five), Indian River Middle School and Indian River High School.
Driving through Norfolk Highlands, one is struck by its sense of permanence. Although a sprinkling of new houses exists throughout the subdivision, most have remained the same for 20, 30 and even 40 or more years.
As Dick Harris says, ``I can name at least a dozen people who ve lived here for years. There is very, very little turnover in houses. It doesn t matter what changes take place, this neighborhood stays the same. The oldtimers wouldn't have it any other way.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Christopher Reddick, Staff
Dick and Lois Harris...and Dianna Price...Jennifer Price...
Indian River Park...
Graphic with color map
About the Neighborhood
by CNB