Park Place, Norfolk, Virginia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Park Place is a neighborhood in the western-half of Norfolk, Virginia. It's boundaries are roughly Church Street on the east, Hampton Blvd on the west, the railroad tracks immediately south of 23rd Street on the south and up to (and including the southern half of) 38th Street to the north. Officially this area includes other more localized designations that include Kensington, etc. but in practice much of the area is simply referred to as Park Place.
Park Place is a predominantly African-American neighborhood that lies directly north of the Ghent district and directly south of Colonial Place. Park Place is one of Norfolk's most distressed and crime-ridden areas. In recent years, this has diminished (especially eastern 35th Street) as many newer homes have been to replace older homes in disrepair. Many of the newer homes are less dense and owner occupied.
Despite the improvements, much of the area is in severe decline. Most of the 35th Street commercial area is in disrepair and vacant. Many rental properties are owned by absentee landlords and are in bad to substandard condition. However, far from being a no-go zone, Park Place is traversed by many of Norfolk's largest thoroughfares and is safe to travel through.
