THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503070036
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS
SOURCE: MIKE KNEPLER
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Maybe it's true that Mother Nature ain't creating any more waterfront. But let's not forget the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
In recent years, the redevelopment agency has created several new acres of waterfront property. There's more to come.
The agency has developed 4.5-acre Lake Liberty in Middle Towne Arch and a still-nameless 1.6-acre pond in Huntersville, west of Church Street. Soon, new houses will be sprouting nearby.
A 2.3-acre pond is proposed for Brambleton, in an area bounded by Corprew and Maltby avenues, and Cecelia and Booth streets. It will be 5-feet deep.
Consultants are looking at pond possibilities for East Ocean View, Lamberts Point and Old Dominion University's campus expansion area, east of Hampton Boulevard.
Why all the ponds? Is the taxpayer being soaked?
Officials cite three purposes:
They really are storm-drainage retention ponds, helping to keep pollutants from filtering into the Chesapeake Bay.
They help control chronic flooding of low-lying streets, especially in Huntersville and parts of East Ocean View near Pretty Lake.
They create a pleasant parklike space for neighborhoods and increase the values of nearby homes.
Also, the ponds are being paid for by the city's stormwater management fee. That answers the question many property owners ask: What are we getting for our money?
For example, the fee paid the $472,000 cost of the Huntersville pond, which was completed last fall, said Clarissa McAdoo, a redevelopment project manager.
By the way, McAdoo is working with the community to come up with a name for the pond, one that reflects some neighborhood history.
But maybe the ponds will produce yet another benefit.
Think of it. Norfolk: pond-for-pond, the storm drainage hub of Hampton Roads.
On the move. A couple of prominent Norfolkians will move to new digs this year.
Vice Mayor Paul Riddick is planning to move from Poplar Halls to Olde Huntersville. Police Chief Melvin High is building a new house in Ocean View's Pinewell-by-the-Bay.
Riddick is buying a house in the 700 block of Washington Ave. It's a homecoming of sorts.
His late grandfather, John R. Riddick, a building contractor, constructed the house in 1912. It also was the home of the vice mayor's stepmother, Vivian E. Riddick, who died last April.
Although Riddick never lived in the house, he did reside in the 700 block of nearby A Avenue for about five years before moving to Poplar Halls in 1983.
Besides the lure of family heritage, Riddick said he is impressed that Olde Huntersville is reviving after years of decay.
``The neighborhood itself is deteriorated, but people are moving back,'' he said. ``And this is a very lovely, well-built home. If it was over on Mowbray Arch (in Ghent), it would cost over $350,000 easy.''
High, the police chief, also is impressed with the revitalization spirit of his future neighborhood.
His new house, under construction in Pinewell-by-the-Bay, will overlook the beach.
``I have a lot of faith in Ocean View,'' said High, who lived in the Bay Point subdivision of East Ocean View for several months when he moved to Norfolk in 1993. He's currently renting in Ghent.
While Riddick and High have not yet moved, Schools Superintendent Roy Nichols settled into his new house some months back. He lives in the new Lafayette Shores community. by CNB