THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 3, 1994 TAG: 9412010330
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATHLEEN BUTLER, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines
When Marine Col. Jon Stull was transferred to the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk nearly four years ago, he looked at 69 houses in neighborhoods from Virginia Beach to Poquoson.
He finally settled on a two-story brick colonial in Chesapeake's Briarwood neighborhood - and he says he's never regretted his choice.
``It's been a good move for us,'' he says. ``It's the community; it's the neighbors. There hasn't been a time when someone hasn't offered their support when we needed it or even when we didn't need it, which is nice.''
Briarwood is a community of 160 single-family homes near Great Bridge in Chesapeake. Residents speak with pride of their quiet, family-oriented neighborhood, their caring neighbors and their tree-lined streets.
``Unfortunately in the fall you have to pay the price for the trees,'' Stull says with a grin. This time of year the streets are lined with bags of leaves, and residents spend days raking their yards.
Jenny and Jay Jones first visited friends in Briarwood two years ago while on a house-hunting tour of Hampton Roads for their upcoming Navy transfer to Norfolk. They fell in love with the neighborhood.
``We thought it was beautiful,'' she says. ``Everyone is extremely friendly.''
The Jones boys, Ben, 5, and Zach, 3, chatter enthusiastically about the neighbors they like to visit.
A testimony to the neighborhood is the number of long-time residents, Jenny Jones says. Although the Joneses are the fourth family to live in their house, many of their neighbors are the original owners, she says.
Karen Moore, who lives across the street from the Joneses, is one of the original Briarwood residents. Although she and her husband have considered moving closer to where he works in Greenbrier, Karen Moore says they can't bear the thought of leaving.
``We love it here,'' she says. ``It's a great neighborhood for kids. It's quiet and it's not very transient.''
Indeed, resident Alice Testerman says she has watched a whole group of children grow up in Briarwood. Testerman moved to Briarwood from Virginia Beach 11 years ago when the neighborhood was in its infancy - and her children were young.
``I liked the appearance of it,'' she says. ``I loved the trees, the style of the homes. I didn't want track houses that all look alike.''
Now her two oldest daughters are away at college, but she says a new set of children maintains the family atmosphere.
``It's almost like a park,'' Testerman says. ``It's a good place to raise a family.''
That family-oriented atmosphere is what drew many Briarwood residents to the neighborhood. Some, like Juan Little Jr. who moved to Briarwood three years ago, say they were searching in the Great Bridge area because of the district's reputation for high-quality schools.
``I wanted to get into the Great Bridge school system,'' Little says. His youngest daughter is now a freshman at Great Bridge High.
Convenience is another attraction. Stull says he's less than 35 minutes from work at Norfolk Naval Base, and, because he takes Interstate 464, he avoids the frequent traffic tie ups along I-64.
Battlefield Boulevard is home to a variety of supermarkets, discount department stores, specialty shops and restaurants, and Greenbrier Mall is only a 10-minute drive away.
Stull says he can drive 20 minutes north to an Admirals hockey game or drive 20 minutes south and be in the country camping with his boys.
``Since we've been here, every (store) we didn't have has moved out here,'' says Delcross Boyle, who built her home in 1983.
The neighborhood was built in four phases, with the first phase completed in the early 1980s. Jayne Moore and her husband built their two-story brick home almost eight years ago in one of the final phases of the development.
As a Navy wife for 26 years, Jayne Moore says she has lived in cities from Maine to California, but she always liked Hampton Roads. And, although her daughter has encouraged her to move closer to Atlanta, Moore says she's happy and feels safe where she is.
``After a while you want to settle down,'' she says.
For most residents, the biggest hassle of living in Briarwood is the drawbridge over the Intracoastal Waterway on Battlefield Boulevard. And, without an active civic league setting building guidelines, some residents say they worry they could wake up one day to a hot pink house next door.
When Stull moved to Briarwood, he says Great Bridge had a cozy, small-town feel. As more subdivisions have been built up, that feel has evaporated somewhat, but Stull says he still feels a strong sense of community in Briarwood.
The morning after Thanksgiving, children skated through the streets, practicing for the 2 p.m. street hockey tournament. This month, neighbors will gather to sing carols.
And in the summer, residents close off the main block for the annual Fourth of July pig picking.
``The only problem if you go out to walk the dog is you end up stopping and talking to neighbors and it ends up taking three times as long,'' Stull says. ``But that's kind of a happy consequence.'' ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD L. DUNSTON/Staff
Two tall poplars perform sentry duty at the entry to Briarwood near
Great Bridge. There are 160 houses in the subdivision.
Raking leaves is an autumn chore at this home on Pinecliff Road.
AT A GLANCE
ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Schools: Great Bridge Elementary School, Great Bridge
Intermediate, Great Bridge Middle School North (grades 6-7), Great
Bridge Middle School South (Greats 8-9) and Great Bridge High
School.
Shopping areas: Battlefield Boulevard is lined with a variety of
supermarkets, discount department stores, specialty shops and
restaurants. Greenbrier Mall is about 10 minutes away by car.
Nearby Interstate 64 offers access to other shopping districts
throughout Hampton Roads.
Recreation: The neighborhood's quiet streets are ideal for
walking or biking. Children enjoy riding bikes, in-line skating and
basketball - almost every driveway has a basketball hoop. Northwest
River Park is a few miles south on Battlefield Boulevard.
Assessments: According to the Chesapeake assessor's office,
houses range from $119,700 to $248,000; the average is $154,800.
SOLD
At 604 Brickwood Court, a house sold for $245,000 in April.
At 641 Brickwood Court, a house sold for $195,800 in July.
At 620 Hollygate Lane, a house sold for $250,000 in August 1993.
by CNB