NORFOLK, Va. — The Hampton Roads Sanitation District says it's replacing three sewage pump stations and rehabilitating three pump stations in the Larchmont area of Norfolk.
Residents in the Larchmont neighborhood say a home located at Magnolia Avenue and Monroe Place was demolished just a few days ago. Now, piles of debris sit where the house once stood.
Property records confirm the home was purchased by the Hampton Roads Sanitation District. Some residents are concerned about how the sewage pump stations will impact their neighborhood.
"It’s such a blow to our neighborhood and it was the prettiest house on the block. I was wondering why they couldn’t put it where the other one was on Monroe Place," said Larchmont resident Sarah VanHoose.
The Hampton Roads Sanitation District paid big bucks for the home: its property value was around $415,000, but HRSD paid more than double that.
"$920,000 was how much the sellers were willing to sell the property for. Given our options, that was the cheapest offer [HRSD] had. HRSD purchased the property and tore down the house to build a new pump station there," said Holly Anne Matel, a project manager with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District.
"My very first thought was, 'Why didn’t they come to my house and give me that offer?'" said VanHoose. "The money that they paid for the house was just extreme. I kept thinking, 'What is this going to do to my property value?'"
Michael Katz with the Larchmont Civic League said the Hampton Roads Sanitation District sent him a letter to inquire about buying his home.
"They contacted us back in 2021 to see if we were interested in selling our house and we said no," Katz said.
When we asked Katz if he would have sold his home if he knew how much HRSD would buy it for, he responded, "We would have seriously considered it."
Neighbors say they are most concerned about the smell and the noise level.
"I just hope the smell is kept down with the new pumping system," said Bob Mayor, who has lived in Larchmont since 1974.
However, HRSD is ensuring residents that the noise level will not be an issue.
"It will not be any louder than the existing pump stations. It’s in the range of a neighbor’s generator," Matel with HRSD said.
HRSD shared a design of what the pump station will look like, which looks similar to other houses in the Larchmont area.
"It will be designed to aesthetically blend in with the neighborhood so they will kind of look like little houses," Matel said.
HRSD says they plan to put a white picket fence around the property once the construction of the building is complete to blend in with the neighborhood.
