spark317
Oct 23, 2003, 2:01 PM
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Hundreds of visitors tour luxury homes on display along Estates Lane in the River Pointe section of Portsmouth on Wednesday. PHOTO BY MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN / THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT.
By MEGHAN HOYER AND DEIRDRE FERNANDES, The Virginian-Pilot
© October 23, 2003
PORTSMOUTH — Real estate agent Bob Schaefer and three co-workers needed a map Wednesday to get from their Virginia Beach office to Homearama.
Schaefer, former president of the Tidewater Association of Realtors, had never been to the area where River Pointe’s million-dollar homes are on display. And in his 20 years in business, he has never sold a home here.
“Portsmouth is a real mystery,” he said.
City officials are using Homearama this fall to counter thinking like that — and even worse perceptions — about Portsmouth.
For years, real estate agents have been accused of steering potential buyers away from Portsmouth, citing the struggling public schools and lack of high-end neighborhoods. The city also suffers from a poor reputation across Hampton Roads.
So city and school leaders have seized on the luxury home show as a rare opportunity to sell a different Portsmouth to business leaders and prospective middle- and upper-class home buyers who don’t often visit.
On the back porch of a million-dollar-plus house overlooking the Elizabeth River, one was overheard to say: “Would you believe this is Portsmouth?”
That’s a far cry from years past, when a handful of residents organized tours for potential home buyers after hearing that real estate agents and military housing officials were not referring newcomers to Portsmouth.
Before seeing the houses, each visitor to Homearama walks through the city’s tent, where Portsmouth employees give out bottled municipal water, pamphlets on Churchland schools and a magazine touting downtown shops and historic districts.
Four flat-screen monitors flash photos of students, teachers and administrators.
“I think this is an opportunity for us to show that we’re more than what they read in the paper,” said Linda D. Ridenour, a member of the School Board. “Hopefully, people will see there’s something worth respecting in Portsmouth.”
The city mostly has been maligned for its school system, which has struggled to maintain qualified teachers and seen many schools fail to get full state accreditation.
Superintendent David C. Stuckwisch doesn’t expect multimillionaires to flood the city because of Homearama. But the division’s message to upper- and middle-class home buyers is that Portsmouth has schools to support their needs.
Stuckwisch spent most of Sunday at Homearama, mingling with crowds and fielding questions. He was back at the site Wednesday.
“You can get an excellent education if you go to those homes; you don’t have to go to private school,” Stuckwisch said. “You have an option.”
Still, few expect the sales pitch to overcome the city’s problems.
Chesapeake real estate agent Ed Hazard said Wednesday troubles exist with the schools, traffic tie-ups at the tunnels and the small tax base.
His co-worker, Cindy Mansfield, said Portsmouth needs a larger stock of new middle-class neighborhoods to really make a mark. Nine $1-million-range houses won’t offset concerns about the city, she said. “It doesn’t overcome all the issues,” she said.
Pittman said the city and state must spend more to improve schools. Homearama is two weeks out of the year, she said. “It’s not a 12- or 13-year experience that our kids have with the school system.”
But she added that the event will leave people with a more positive view of Portsmouth.
“If it serves nothing more than an atta-boy pat for the city, it gives a good message that things are going well and that the turn-around is actually in place,” she said. “It’s important for the citizens of Portsmouth, and it’s equally important for the citizens of the region.”
Hundreds of visitors tour luxury homes on display along Estates Lane in the River Pointe section of Portsmouth on Wednesday. PHOTO BY MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN / THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT.
By MEGHAN HOYER AND DEIRDRE FERNANDES, The Virginian-Pilot
© October 23, 2003
PORTSMOUTH — Real estate agent Bob Schaefer and three co-workers needed a map Wednesday to get from their Virginia Beach office to Homearama.
Schaefer, former president of the Tidewater Association of Realtors, had never been to the area where River Pointe’s million-dollar homes are on display. And in his 20 years in business, he has never sold a home here.
“Portsmouth is a real mystery,” he said.
City officials are using Homearama this fall to counter thinking like that — and even worse perceptions — about Portsmouth.
For years, real estate agents have been accused of steering potential buyers away from Portsmouth, citing the struggling public schools and lack of high-end neighborhoods. The city also suffers from a poor reputation across Hampton Roads.
So city and school leaders have seized on the luxury home show as a rare opportunity to sell a different Portsmouth to business leaders and prospective middle- and upper-class home buyers who don’t often visit.
On the back porch of a million-dollar-plus house overlooking the Elizabeth River, one was overheard to say: “Would you believe this is Portsmouth?”
That’s a far cry from years past, when a handful of residents organized tours for potential home buyers after hearing that real estate agents and military housing officials were not referring newcomers to Portsmouth.
Before seeing the houses, each visitor to Homearama walks through the city’s tent, where Portsmouth employees give out bottled municipal water, pamphlets on Churchland schools and a magazine touting downtown shops and historic districts.
Four flat-screen monitors flash photos of students, teachers and administrators.
“I think this is an opportunity for us to show that we’re more than what they read in the paper,” said Linda D. Ridenour, a member of the School Board. “Hopefully, people will see there’s something worth respecting in Portsmouth.”
The city mostly has been maligned for its school system, which has struggled to maintain qualified teachers and seen many schools fail to get full state accreditation.
Superintendent David C. Stuckwisch doesn’t expect multimillionaires to flood the city because of Homearama. But the division’s message to upper- and middle-class home buyers is that Portsmouth has schools to support their needs.
Stuckwisch spent most of Sunday at Homearama, mingling with crowds and fielding questions. He was back at the site Wednesday.
“You can get an excellent education if you go to those homes; you don’t have to go to private school,” Stuckwisch said. “You have an option.”
Still, few expect the sales pitch to overcome the city’s problems.
Chesapeake real estate agent Ed Hazard said Wednesday troubles exist with the schools, traffic tie-ups at the tunnels and the small tax base.
His co-worker, Cindy Mansfield, said Portsmouth needs a larger stock of new middle-class neighborhoods to really make a mark. Nine $1-million-range houses won’t offset concerns about the city, she said. “It doesn’t overcome all the issues,” she said.
Pittman said the city and state must spend more to improve schools. Homearama is two weeks out of the year, she said. “It’s not a 12- or 13-year experience that our kids have with the school system.”
But she added that the event will leave people with a more positive view of Portsmouth.
“If it serves nothing more than an atta-boy pat for the city, it gives a good message that things are going well and that the turn-around is actually in place,” she said. “It’s important for the citizens of Portsmouth, and it’s equally important for the citizens of the region.”