DATE: Saturday, May 17, 1997                TAG: 9705170277

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  115 lines

PORTSMOUTH'S OLDER AREAS HAVE TO-DO LIST FOR NEW PLANNERTHE CITY'S JUST-BUDGETED POSITION MEANS MORE ATTENTION FOR CRADOCK AND OTHERS.

Time has not been kind to Cradock, despite its auspicious beginning as a perfectly planned community almost 80 years ago.

Homeowners have waged public wars with absentee landlords and transient residents with no interest in the quality of the community. Residents also have battled drug traffickers, along with the violence and crime often associated with drugs in a neighborhood.

The town square, which residents say was the first planned shopping center in the United States, has fallen victim to the fate of small businesses everywhere as discount stores and supermarkets lure customers away.

The answers are not simple, says J. Robert Gray, president of the Cradock Property Owners Association and former vice mayor of Portsmouth.

Gray welcomes the news that the recently adopted city budget includes money for a new planner specifically designated to help old communities such as Cradock find answers to their aging problems.

``I see this person as a nuts-and-bolts planner,'' said Jim Gildea, the city's planning director. ``Part of our job is unleashing other people's energy. We will help focus the neighborhoods.''

For instance, Gildea said his department can help by getting tougher on code enforcement. Residents say an inspection sweep in the historic district last fall helped bring 50 to 60 houses up to code.

A neighborhood-policing program that began last year is affecting Cradock, according to Dottie Wyatt, a resident who has been involved in the community.

``You can see it at times like Halloween,'' she said. ``We had a wonderful, safe Halloween last fall.''

Four citizens - Gray, Wyatt, Lisbeth Coker and Laurie Lewis - spent many hours over the past six months mapping house-by-house the original Cradock as well as a nearby area known as West Cradock.

``We know what is on every piece of property, and we know what needs to be done with every piece of it,'' Wyatt said.

Wyatt and Gray are among the longtime residents who say they wouldn't live elsewhere.

Built during World War I for workers who came to fill jobs at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Cradock has remained essentially a good, solid working-class neighborhood. Many residents have stayed, devoted to the place, even as their affluence grew.

Gray, who retired as a manager at the Ford Plant in Norfolk, is one of them.

``I hope to see this community revive and to attract younger people,'' he said recently. ``We're beginning to see some of the older houses being occupied by younger owners. And we're getting some new construction in a few places.''

Last summer, the city arranged for residents to meet with consultants Ray Gindroz and Robert Freedman of UDA Associates in Pittsburgh, the people doing the city's Vision 2005 economic and community development plan.

``Cradock is famous with urban planners,'' Gindroz told them. ``It is a well-known plan.''

Shaped like an anchor, the community was designed by George B. Post and Sons of New York, one of the top architectural firms in the nation early in this century. Built in 1918 by the federal government's U.S. Housing Corporation on a 310-acre farm on Paradise Creek, Cradock was about three miles south of Portsmouth at that time.

The original construction included 417 detached houses, 72 semi-detached structures, 92 row houses and nine apartment buildings. Ultimately, the government built 759 houses in the community.

In 1918, Cradock was way ahead of its time. Electrical wiring ran through back yards and under streets. The houses had plenty of closets, something that was missing from most homes at that time.

In fact, the houses had electric lights and individual telephones before many homes in Portsmouth had such amenities.

Schools, playgrounds, a hospital and five churches - Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal and Catholic - were part of the original design. Land was donated to religious organizations by the government to encourage formation of congregations.

``The churches are important,'' Wyatt said. ``Many people come from other areas to attend services here.''

In addition to the original public facilities, Cradock now has a fire station, a post office, a recreation center and a public library. The library is the repository for memorabilia, including trophies, from the old Cradock High School building, which now houses the Norfolk State University-Old Dominion University Graduate Center.

Afton Parkway, the shank of the anchor, is the main artery into Cradock. The shops on the square originally filled almost all of the residents' needs - all within walking distance. In recent years, the shops have been more limited, and many have been empty.

Gray said the square was redone about 10 years ago.

``It was opened up and cleaned up,'' he said. ``They took up asphalt and planted grass. They planted Bradford pears and crape myrtles.''

The traditional gazebo bandstand was refurbished and is a landmark in the square.

``We always have a flag-raising ceremony at the gazebo at 10 a.m. on July Fourth,'' Wyatt said. ``It's been done every year since the establishment of Cradock.''

Cradock, once an independent community in Norfolk County, was annexed by Portsmouth in 1960. But longtime residents, including some who have been there since 1919, still think of their neighborhood as a separate entity.

The Cradock Woman's Club, which owns two buildings and a large tract on Afton Parkway, and Cradock Music Club exist as entities within the community.

Cradock was declared a National Historic Landmark 25 years ago. It is one of five areas of Portsmouth designated as historic districts.

Cradock is just one of many parts of Portsmouth that is being revitalized.

Today at 9 a.m. at the Wilson High School Little Theater, a public hearing will be held to get ideas on the table for mapping out a new future for the Airline Boulevard Corridor.

Earlier this week, City Council approved a plan to demolish Fairwood Homes, a neighborhood of World War II temporary homes that has seen better days, and replace it with a commerce park.

Also, earlier this year, the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority unveiled a comprehensive plan to tear down the Ida Barbour public housing community to make way for new townhomes that tenants will have the opportunity to purchase.

In addition, houses are being built on what was River's Edge, a crime-plagued apartment complex near Midtown that was razed last year. ILLUSTRATION: Map

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