Beach plans to widen intersection and add shops, apartments in Kempsville

VIRGINIA BEACH

Two historic houses in Kempsville, each more than 200 years old, will not be disturbed by the city's plan to shift and rebuild Witchduck and Princess Anne roads.

In fact, city leaders are in discussions to buy Pleasant Hall, a stately two-story brick house on Princess Anne Road that was a funeral home for many years. It was built in 1769 and is owned and maintained by Kempsville Baptist Church.

"The city is very interested in Pleasant Hall," said Steve Herbert, the Beach's chief development officer. "We want to make sure it's protected and maintained. It's a handsome house."

Meanwhile, the older, smaller Carraway House, just around the corner on Witchduck Road, remains in private hands, although that may not be permanent.

Built in the early 1730s, Carraway House is currently a real estate office. The city's plan to widen Witchduck Road will not disturb Carraway House, as it has 31 houses just down the street. In recent weeks, the city bought those homes and demolished all but a few of them.

The owner of Carraway House, Laura Wenslaff, bought the house a year ago and operates Home Realty there. She said a city employee told her Virginia Beach might buy the house and use it as a welcome center for a proposed Kempsville historic district.

"We're staying as long as the city will allow us," Wenslaff said.

For now, the city has no plans to buy the house, said Clay Bernick, a city planner in charge of the Kempsville proposal.

The City Council approved the Historic Kempsville Area Master Plan two years ago. It is part road project, part economic development plan.

One goal is to unclog the intersection of Witchduck, Princess Anne and Kempsville roads, which is among the worst in Virginia Beach. During rush hour, traffic backs up horribly, and Witchduck is unusually narrow.

The city will move the intersection 600 feet south, and straighten and widen Witchduck and Princess Anne. That will require the demolition of some Kempsville landmarks, including the former Kemps Landing Magnet School, the Pony League baseball fields and Senor Iguana's restaurant.

The city will own three of the four corners. Construction is scheduled to start in 2010 and finish in 2012.

The economic development plan is equally ambitious. Generally, it envisions a Colonial-style, history-themed area of shops, apartments and open spaces. It calls for re-creating a village setting in Kempsville and establishing "a unique sense of place."

The 153-page master plan is fairly detailed. It includes 30 maps, architectural design guidelines and a proposed village square on the Pony League fields.

Bernick compared the concept to Merchants Square and New Town, two shopping areas in Williamsburg.

"It would be unique - an island in the middle of suburbia," he said.

While Kempsville has a long, storied history, little evidence of it remains.

In Colonial days, Kempe's Landing was a small, thriving village on the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River. It was the Princess Anne County seat from 1778 to 1824, with a courthouse and jail. A Revolutionary War skirmish took place there.

After the war, Kempe's Landing became a town and changed its name to Kempsville. Many historic buildings remained through the 1960s. At one point, according to the master plan, Kempsville had

a higher concentration of historic buildings as an intact village than any other area in Hampton Roads except Williamsburg.

Nearly all of that was destroyed by development.

Today, Kempsville's river is almost invisible, except where Princess Anne Road crosses it near Lord Dunmore Drive. The river there is just a muddy, shallow version of its former self, where cotton and tobacco ships once landed.

Pleasant Hall and Carraway House are the only remaining Colonial buildings.

Pleasant Hall is a magnificent building, restored to its former grandeur by Neal Kellum, who bought it in 1989 to be used as a funeral home. Kellum also built a modern addition to the house, which is used as a chapel and meeting room by Kempsville Baptist Church.

The church bought the house in 2001 and added period furniture. A history committee leads tours and keeps the house spotless.

"It was one of the most beautiful houses in Virginia in its time," said Boots McBride, a member of the committee who leads tours. "We take care of this house just as if we were taking care of our own."

City and church leaders disagree about who approached whom about buying/selling Pleasant Hall, but both sides agree the discussions have not gone far yet. "They are very, very, very preliminary," said the church's senior pastor, Kelly J. Burris.

"Pleasant Hall would certainly make a good destination as a historic house or museum," said Mark A. Reed, the city's historic resources coordinator.

Carraway House is far more modest. The ground floor consists of two offices, a foyer and storage space. A scrapbook includes letters from the 19th century. Two Carraway family Bibles are featured in a glass case, with entries dating to 1770.

The backyard features a small family graveyard, with headstones dating to 1899.

"I've always enjoyed history," Wenslaff said, "but having it up close and personal is pretty cool."

Marc Davis, (757) 222-5131, marc.davis@pilotonline.com