The Virginian-Pilot
©
PORTSMOUTH
The historic Truxtun neighborhood and surrounding areas are finally close to getting a long-awaited strategy to fight blight.
The City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a revitalization plan for the neighborhood, which opened in 1919 to house black shipyard workers and their families.
While approval of the plan will not immediately translate into city money to revive the neighborhood, designation as a conservation district will enable Truxtun leaders to apply for federal grants.
"We haven't gotten to the end of the tunnel, obviously, but we're getting closer to it," said Vanessa Claytor, president of the Old Truxtun Community League.
She and other neighborhood leaders have been working with the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority, city staff and police and sheriff's departments for more than two years to preserve the neighborhood's history.
With enactment of the plan, the housing authority would be able to acquire and redevelop blighted properties, and money to boost home ownership and do home repairs could potentially become available to residents.
The proposed district would include Truxtun, North Truxtun and Arcadia Heights. Councilman Charles B. Whitehurst Sr. said he likes the fact that the propos al includes neighborhoods that border the smaller historic Truxtun district.
The district's boundaries are Frederick Boulevard to the east; Trexler Avenue to the north; a little past Magnolia Street to the west; and somewhat beyond Portsmouth Boulevard to the south.
It includes about 600 residences, according to city planner Jeff Crimer. T he average assessed value of the homes there is about $105,000.
If the plan is enacted, the area would become the city's second conservation district. The housing authority is already working in the Cradock area to acquire blighted properties.
Truxtun was one of 10 communities around the country that the federal government built for wartime workers. It was the first for black workers and became home to more than 200 families, many of whom were former slaves.
The neighborhood's designer laid out Truxtun like a model town, complete with schools, churches and parks. The homes were typically five rooms and included amenities that were not generally available, such as electricity and indoor plumbing.
The neighborhood remained stable decades after its founding. But over time as residents aged, home ownership and property values decreased. Crime, absentee landlords and vacant housing became problems.
Neighborhood and city leaders are optimistic that the new designation will help them address some of those challenges.
The priority list includes addressing parking on busy Portsmouth Boulevard, building a playground in a vacant lot at the corner of Deep Creek Boulevard and Portsmouth Boulevard; and starting a Neighborhood Watch and beautification committee, Claytor said.
Chester Benton, president of the Historical Truxtun Civic League, said he would like to see a gateway created for the community with signs and lighting, like other historic districts.
Benton said neighborhood leaders are looking to target blighted properties along Portsmouth Boulevard first, "so Portsmouth Boulevard can become a showcase of things to come."
Jen McCaffery, (757) 446-2627, jen.mccaffery@pilotonline.com
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I'm familiar with the area ---------
Part of the problem is age, I'll grant you that. But the biggest problem in that area is drugs and crime. Thats why the decent people moved and turned it into Section 8 rental property. Start the neighborhood watch NOW and clean up the neighborhood. You want your neighborhood to be nice, clean and appealing but it's up to you to fix the underlying issues first. Why throw good money into a bad neighborhhod. That just gives the "gangsta's" a nicer place to live on my dollar!
To lj17163:
If you're talking about Truxton, yes, they would be wise to start a Neighborhood Watch if they don't already have one.
If you're talking about Cradock, let me clue you in....we have one and it's working well. Perhaps our own Ted Lamb can go over to the good people of Truxton and help them begin one.
My taxed 2 cents worth:
I read the article when it posted just after midnight knowing what the comments would entail after daylight.
I live in Cradock and have had to go before the holders of the Holy Grail in order make improvements to my historic home. It's not so much a 'nightmare' as it is an inconvenience and what feels like an insult on my ability to discern taste and common sense. What annoys me most is to see a house painted BRIGHT ORANGE on Gillis Rd. with no apparent reprecussion. Either the owners were denied improvements and retaliated or they are a blatant example of someone from whom the rest of the neighborhood needs to be protected under the Conservation rule.
My intial reaction to the article is this: First they'll designate the status to a Conservation district then they'll douse your neighborhood with several hundred Section 8 tenants whose absentee landlords could give a hoot. Screens will hang off, doors torn off, and drugs dealt by the light of day. Unless and until Portsmouth gets it right, designations are pointless.
Amen
Rules need to be applied across the board...the current focus is on people who actually try to follow the rules...with no repercussions for those who tell the city to take a flying leap.
Note to inspectors...yes, it's lovely to have a big fat file of "closed" cases that involve telling people to cut their grass, but the residents would rather you tackle the bigger problems with the absentee landlords and the ne'er do wells.
Crime, absentee landlords and vacant housing became problems.
No kidding. And all that started when the Welfare State programs were created by the liberal Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson. When the "baby mama" and "baby daddy" drug culture began to take root by the mid-1970's, these communities were doomed. They used to be picturesque safe places to live with FAMILIES (a mother and father) who raised their children to be good citizens. It will be decades before that standard can be recovered--if ever. Sadly, some places will historically fail. Cradock, Truxton and Cavalier Manor may fit that category, no matter what subsidies are created. Stop the public assistance, stop rewarding single mothers and prosecute and imprison to the fullest extent of the law those who sell drugs, commit burglaries, steal, rob, assault, etc. That can help the problem, but it will require a serious coordinated effort. Better policing and prosecuting--law enforcement is a BIG part of that.
Revitalization Plan?
Is that anything like those the consultants did for Cradock a few years ago and also 20-30 years ago?
Note to Council...if you aren't actually going to IMPLEMENT the plan, what is the point of spending all that money on consultants and wasting the time and energy of the residents?
Historic Area
I agree, don't do it. Trying to improve any property in a Historic District is a complete nightmare. You buy a house then find out you need to get permission to make improvements to it!! How are we suppose to make an old house energy efficient when we are NOT allowed to use AFFORDABLE energy efficient windows or doors. We buy in these neighborhoods because this is what we can afford!! Then find out we can not afford the improvements. I can see keeping the historic integrity of the areas but enough is enough. Give us a break, at least we are trying to improve our little piece of real estate.
Did you think that
maybe this is the CC's plan? The council throws our tax dollars at public housing projects (for the 4 fold federal subsidy). All the while, they may be hoping to run some of these legitimate lower and middle class folks out of their homes. Any improvement would immediately be met with higher assessment and higher tax rates. That would give the council even more money to throw at public housing projects. Sounds like a 'Win' for council to me. LOL
I live in a historic neighborhood in Portsmouth...don't do it!
Take my advice, DON'T designate your neighborhood as such. We have had several people forced to move out...many seniors who have lived here for years because they couldn't afford to replace slate roofs with slate, or couldn't put on new siding because the 'rules' say to repair the wood.
It is a nightmare to go before the city committee if you want improvements or a change in color or you want to add a garage. We have old, leaky wood windows and are disallowed from replacement windows, even though they are more energy efficient because the 'rules' say you must replace wood windows with 'wood..$$$' customized wood windows.
And those grants? Will if you are middle income, good luck.
We bought this home before the designation and have lived here for many, many years. I will NEVER own a home in a designated historic district again!
Marie
which neighborhood do you live in? Because we have fought the nightmare in Port Norfolk and beat the CAR on a couple of issues. You just need to be ready with facts and estimates. Wisely the courts recognize property rights in Virginia and if the requirement is beyond normal costs, like slate roofs or wood siding, they will overrule CAR