THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 25, 1996 TAG: 9605240442
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTINA PROCTOR, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: 102 lines
Holland House Apartments, built circa 1905, bring authentic Dutch architecture to Norfolk's Ghent area. Listed as a Virginia National Historic Landmark, the units have been offering residents easy access to downtown Norfolk for almost 91 years.
Clarence A. Neff, of Neff & Thompson, a prominent architectural firm in Norfolk in the early 1900s, saw a similar structure while visiting the Netherlands.
He contracted the Dutch architect and used his plans to base Holland House's construction. The four-story red-brick building is on the corner of Drummond Place, Mowbray Arch and Botetourt Street.
Holland House was originally intended to bea residential hotel for the 1907 Jamestown Exposition. The first floor included a large dining room, barber shop, store, and kitchen. The store was known as the Holland Confectionary.
The first apartments had limited kitchens but residents could also dine via dumb-waiter in their apartments. The restaurant, known as Alice's Palace from the 1930s to 1950s, became a lunchtime fixture for the Ghent neighborhood.
R.G. Bosher and the R.A. Lawson Corp. renovated the structure in 1983, turning the dumb-waiter kitchens into laundry rooms with washer and dryer hookups.
The exterior of the building and hallways were updated while retaining their original appearance. Skylights were added to the hallways to improve light quality, something allowed because the addition is not visible from the exterior, so the skylights don't compromise the historical integrity of the building.
Before the renovation the building was used as a homeless shelter for two years.
Today, the building offers 24 units, eight one-bedroom, and 16 two-bedroom apartments, with water and sewer included. The apartments have central air-conditioning, a heat pump and electric appliances.
The kitchens offer dishwashers, garbage disposals, self-cleaning ovens and no-wax linoleum. The original hardwood floors were covered with a neutral soft-brown carpet. Pets are allowed with a $200 one-time fee, but dogs must be under 30 pounds.
Floor plans differ slightly in the three sections of the C-shaped building, considered part of the historic charm by residents. One-bedrooms rent for $625 and two-bedrooms range from $695 to $795, for a top floor apartment.
Top floor apartments offer beautiful views of The Hague, Chrysler Museum, and Waterside. Although most of the units have views of The Hague. Blinds are provided and each apartment either has a walk-in closet or two wall closets depending on the floor plan.
Most of the ceilings are 10-feet high giving the apartments a large roomy feeling. Each unit has access to a wrought-iron fire escape providing a small back porch area.
Toni Van Dyke, manager since 1990, said residents like the feeling of a unique close-knit community within a city setting. She said many of the residents work in downtown Norfolk, making their commute a stroll instead of an hour in gridlock traffic.
Diane Hernandez retired from a secretarial job in the Defense Department in Washington, D.C., and moved to Hampton Roads to be near the beach. Once she arrived she found she couldn't resist the charm of Ghent.
``I lived in Belgium for 13 years, so I was surprised when I moved here and was told that there was a Hague here,'' said Hernandez, who has lived in her first-floor two-bedroom for over a year.
``This is a great walking area. I didn't feel very safe in Northern Virginia. You don't go out walking there. I was used to feeling very safe in Europe and this reminds me of Belgium. And it's close to everything. It's only about a mile to grocery shopping on 21st Street.''
Hernandez also finds the location perfect for staying involved in the community. She devotes eight hours a week to the Heutte Center at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, and is enrolled in real estate school.
Nancy Ricci, a licensed practical nurse, started out on the bottom floor of Holland House and worked her way to the top. She now lives in a one-bedroom with Max, her 8-month old Yorkshire Terrier. Ricci, a native of California, said she was fascinated by the history of the area.
``I try to tell my family what it's like here and they can't imagine it,'' said Ricci, a 2 1/2-year resident of Holland House. ``We don't have historic buildings like this in California.''
Ricci said the best thing about life in Ghent and Holland House is the atmosphere.
``You can walk everywhere. It's an easy 20-minute walk to Waterside or the Colley Avenue restaurants. I also power walk with a group women from the community,'' said Ricci.
Holland House has also had its five minutes of fame as the backdrop for a short-lived movie. ``Blind Vision,'' a psychological thriller, starred Deborah Shelton, a Norfolk native and former Miss USA. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
MIKE HEFFNER
Holland Houes dates to the turn of the century and is based on a
design a local architect observed in the Netherlands.
The building windows offer a terrific view of both old and modern
Norfolk.
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AT A GLANCE
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm] by CNB