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Day 31

day31Today, I walked through the Stonewall neighborhood near Clay’s Mill and Man O’ War.  This area is officially referred to as Higby Woods, though signage in the neighborhood is the new variety that identifies the neighborhood with a badge.   The area seems to have been built in the late 1970’s, but the housing has aged well and I think this neighborhood does a pretty good job of exemplifying a certain architectural quality that late 20th/early 21st century houses in Lexington have that I haven’t seen in other places I’ve lived.  In this case, it’s predominantly Colonial Revival, but one house has an upfit to a Scandinavian-modern look.

Stonewall neighborhood street sign showing the neighborhood "badge"
Stonewall neighborhood street sign showing the neighborhood “badge”

One feature of these homes is large lot size.  Many of these lots were well-equipped, with pools, playgrounds, patios and basketball courts. (The nearby park, meanwhile, had none of these.) I though about the trade off between lots of big yards versus a nice park. With a park, you share cost with your neighbors (or, really, with the rest of the city). And that’s fine as long as you all basically agree on what you want from the park (or whether you want them at all).

Neglected basketball hoop in the Stonewall neighborhood
Neglected basketball hoop in the Stonewall neighborhood

But, as the city grows, it’s easy to feel as if you voice is lost in the crowd. If you can afford it, a nice yard can serve as a hedge against your neighbors having different priorities, though it comes at some cost, and in the case of this area, this is evident in the maintenance of many formerly well-installed basketball hoops.

The good: well-cared for neighborhood

The bad: …with more than it’s share of tagging!

 

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Day 30

day30Today’s walk was through the Radcliffe neighborhood, near Russell Cave Road and next to I-75.  The mix of architecture made me think initially that this neighborhood had been built over a relatively long period, with both very basic brick homes and more complex split-level designs.  It turns out the time-frame for these houses is fairly consistently mid- to late- 1960’s.  While some of the neighborhood felt as if it were undergoing that last surge of change before it settles in to a steady state, other parts felt…grandmotherly, perhaps?

Otherwise, there weren’t a whole lot of surprises, just a relatively quiet neighborhood where neighbors are looking out for each other.

The good: Watchful neighbors

The bad:  Proximity to the highway with little sound abatement

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Day 29

day29Today’s walk was through a neighborhood that was very similar to yesterdays, with a mix of multifamily and single family homes, and nearby businesses.  The big surprise today was the sheer number of four-unit apartment buildings along Yellowstone, Winter Garden and Snow Rd, which made walking this stretch feel like walking through an apartment complex, though one with similar but not identical styles and upkeep.  Overall, this area stuck to it’s 1970’s-vintage aesthetic, car oriented, though not as obnoxiously so as some newer neighborhoods.  An ambitious person could walk to Wal-Mart or other shops on Richmond Road (“walking distance” is for practical purposes anything within a quarter to a half mile; these places are just over a mile each way.)  Construction also appears to be generally high-quality, leading me to think that this could be a good “sleeper” neighborhood for someone looking for low rent or a good value home to buy.

The good: Good mix of housing, good quality construction.

The bad: Not, strictly speaking, “walkable.”

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Day 28

day28Today took me to an area roughly between Palumbo and Woodhill, just outside New Circle Road.  I knew that Palumbo is very industrial in this area (which borders the RJ Corman line) but wasn’t sure what else I’d find.  It turns out that the industrial properties on Palumbo back right up to residences on Mirahill, and this is part of the Woodhill neighborhood.  This area seems quiet and unassuming, with lots of toys in yards, probably quieter than usual on a rainy afternoon like today.

For Lease signage along Codell
For Lease signage along Codell

Similar to Mirahill/Palumbo, Codell is a clear dividing line between uses, with commercial uses on the east side (a fairly successful strip mall facing New Circle Road and very empty office/commercial space facing Codell,) and apartments and condos on the west side.  This area seems pretty well connected; a bus runs down Woodhill and Codell, surely there are plenty of jobs in the area.  Nonetheless, the apparent vacancy rate of the commercial space isn’t really shocking based on age and appearance.  It’s not easy to compete with new.  One has to view this area as an opportunity.

The good: nice mix of uses

The bad: commercial space isn’t creating opportunity

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Day 27

day 27Today took me to an area off Chilesburg road, officially part of the Anderson Property neighborhood and a subdivision called Still Meadow.  This is a new neighborhood with larger homes.  The neighborhood has aged well in these critical early years, and benefits from a degree of visual variety that lower-end tract neighborhoods don’t get including an expanded pallet of siding colors.  This area also manages to fit in some townhouses, which are amazingly in the 2,500 square foot range.  The houses and lots are large and there is a lot of interstitial space (sometimes programmed as greenspace or park), including some interesting areas behind Ridge View that must border Jacobson Park but which are too large to belong to the neighborhood.  All this space makes this neighborhood genuinely quiet.

A dead end street segment programmed by the neighborhood.
A dead end street segment programmed by the neighborhood.

This neighborhood repeats a common Lexington pattern of dead-end streets that look prepared to connect somewhere else…someday.  Here (as elsewhere) these short segments get taken over with uses, in one case here,  turned into a little playground.  This neighborhood also has it’s own small park, complete with exercise circuit.

Water feature at the entrance to the Still Meadow subdivision
Water feature at the entrance to the Still Meadow subdivision

Sometimes it seems like subdivisions get features from their developer that are showy but that probably don’t add value, and the water feature at the entrance fits this well.  It would work in a backyard, but it’s too easy to drive by without noticing and not robust enough to be played upon.

The good: Visual diversity.

The bad: Too young to have much personality.