3640 Towne Point Road is a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath townhome-style rental in Portsmouth's Churchland area, built in 2021 — which makes it something of a unicorn in a city where most of the housing stock predates the moon landing. At 1,500 square feet with relatively modern bones, it offers a straightforward answer to a question a lot of renters and buyers ask in this market: can I find something newer without leaving Portsmouth?
Churchland sits on the western edge of Portsmouth, tucked between the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River and the city line with Chesapeake. It has a character that's distinctly different from the rest of Portsmouth — less urban, more suburban, with wide roads, strip commercial corridors, and residential streets that feel more like Chesapeake or Suffolk than they do like Olde Towne. That's not a knock; it's actually a selling point for people who want Portsmouth's price points without the density of the older city neighborhoods closer to the waterfront.
The Churchland homes in this part of the city tend to draw a practical crowd: military families who want quick access to the bases along the river corridor, working professionals who commute toward Norfolk or Chesapeake, and renters who want more square footage for their dollar than they'd find in Virginia Beach or Norfolk. The area has a well-established commercial spine along Churchland Boulevard and Towne Point Road, so you're never far from what you need day-to-day. The neighborhood doesn't have the architectural drama of Ghent or the historic bones of Olde Towne, but it compensates with accessibility, relative affordability, and the kind of low-fuss livability that a lot of people quietly prefer once they've lived here a while.
Living in Portsmouth
Portsmouth doesn't always get the headlines that Norfolk or Virginia Beach do, but buyers paying attention have noticed what's been happening here. The city carries some of the most accessible median prices in all of Hampton Roads, which is a genuine advantage whether you're a first-time buyer stretching a budget, an investor running numbers on a rental, or a military family trying to make a VA loan work without overextending. Browsing homes for sale in Portsmouth across different zip codes tells an interesting story — you'll find everything from century-old Craftsmans in Olde Towne to newer construction in the Churchland corridor, often at prices that would be laughed out of a comparable Virginia Beach neighborhood.
The honest trade-off is that much of Portsmouth's housing stock is older, and buyers should factor in inspection diligence accordingly. But properties built in the 2020s sidestep most of that concern entirely. The city has been investing meaningfully in its waterfront and downtown core, and Olde Towne in particular has seen real appreciation as buyers and investors have started treating it more seriously. Churchland, meanwhile, benefits from proximity to Chesapeake's amenities without Chesapeake's price premiums. For anyone asking whether Portsmouth is a smart place to put down roots right now, the answer increasingly looks like yes — especially in the 23703 zip code, where newer inventory occasionally surfaces in a market that doesn't produce much of it.
What's Nearby
The immediate walkability picture around Towne Point Road is utilitarian and honest. Within a minute's walk you've got a Happy Shopper and a corner mart for quick grocery runs — the kind of stops that handle the "I just need milk and bread" moments without getting in a car. A BP station sits about two-tenths of a mile away, and Krispy Krunchy Chicken is right there alongside it if you want something fried and fast at any hour. Shek's Chinese Express and Jacky Chen Restaurant are both within a few blocks, which means weeknight takeout is a solved problem. Lili Delites Corner Mart rounds out the immediate food-and-coffee radius at under half a mile.
For the morning routine, a McDonald's and a Dunkin' are both within a short walk — under three-quarters of a mile — which is genuinely useful if you're the type who doesn't want to drive before the first cup of coffee. Ebony Heights Park is about half a mile away, a reasonable distance for an evening walk or a weekend morning with a dog. Planet Fitness is under a mile, and for something a little less conventional, Roaming Yoga VA is within walking distance at just under a mile.
The broader Churchland corridor gives you access to a full range of retail and services along Churchland Boulevard, and the connection to Interstate 664 means you can reach Chesapeake's Greenbrier area, downtown Norfolk via the Downtown Tunnel, or Suffolk without much drama. The 23703 zip code sits at a useful geographic crossroads in Hampton Roads — central enough that most of the region is reachable in under thirty minutes on a reasonable traffic day.
Commuting to NSA Northwest Annex
The nearest military installation to 3640 Towne Point Road is NSA Northwest Annex, sitting roughly 3.1 miles away — a commute that runs about six minutes under normal conditions. That's not a figure you see very often in Hampton Roads real estate, where most military-adjacent properties are still a fifteen-to-thirty-minute drive from the gate. Six minutes is essentially on-base adjacent by this region's standards.
For families PCSing to NSA Northwest Annex, that proximity changes the daily calculus in meaningful ways. Early morning formations, late-night duty, last-minute schedule changes — all of those become significantly less stressful when the base is a short straight shot down the road. The Churchland area has historically been a reliable landing zone for military families assigned to the northwest annex precisely because of this distance advantage, and the rental and purchase inventory here tends to move quickly when good properties surface.
Norfolk Naval Shipyard, one of the largest naval installations on the East Coast, is also accessible from this address — typically a fifteen-to-twenty-minute drive depending on bridge-tunnel traffic patterns. For dual-military households or families with one member at NAS Oceana and another at a Portsmouth-area installation, the location in the 23703 zip code offers a reasonable geographic compromise. The broader Hampton Roads military community is well-served by the region's network of installations, and Churchland's position in the western part of Portsmouth keeps multiple bases within practical commuting range without requiring a daily highway slog.
A Walk Through the Property
Built in 2021, this 1,500-square-foot property represents the newer end of the spectrum for residential construction in Portsmouth — a city where finding anything built after 2000 at an accessible price point requires some patience. The three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath layout is a format that works well for a range of households: a family with kids who need separate rooms, roommates splitting costs, or a couple who wants a dedicated home office without giving up a guest room. The half bath on the main living level is a practical feature that gets underappreciated until you've lived in a place without one.
Construction from 2021 means the mechanical systems — HVAC, water heater, electrical — are current-generation and haven't accumulated years of deferred maintenance. That matters both for day-to-day comfort and for long-term cost predictability. There's no HOA governing this address, which removes a layer of monthly obligation and the associated rules about exterior modifications, parking, and the like. The property sits in a walkable section of the Churchland corridor without being on a busy arterial, which balances accessibility with reasonable residential quiet.
A Day in the Life
The rhythm of daily life at 3640 Towne Point Road is efficient in a way that people who've lived in more sprawling parts of Hampton Roads tend to appreciate. Morning coffee is a short walk away. The base commute, for military households, is measured in single-digit minutes. Weeknight dinner doesn't require much planning when takeout options are within a few blocks. The park is close enough for an evening walk without needing to drive to it.
Weekends open up the broader Hampton Roads geography — the waterfront in Olde Towne Portsmouth, the restaurants and nightlife of Norfolk's Granby Street corridor, the beaches of Virginia Beach, or a day trip toward Williamsburg along I-64. Churchland's position in the 23703 zip code makes it a practical base for exploring the region without being so central that you're paying a premium for the address alone. It's the kind of location that rewards people who want to live efficiently and spend their time and money on experiences rather than commutes.
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**For military families considering this address.** The six-minute drive to NSA Northwest Annex is the headline, but the secondary benefit is the flexibility this location offers to dual-military households or families with members spread across multiple installations. Norfolk Naval Shipyard is reachable in roughly fifteen to twenty minutes, and the broader corridor of Hampton Roads bases stays within practical range. For a PCS move where minimizing commute stress is a priority, Churchland in Portsmouth's 23703 zip code is worth putting near the top of the list.
**For Hampton Roads families upgrading from a starter home.** A 2021-built property with three bedrooms and two and a half baths in a no-HOA setting represents a meaningful step up from the older, smaller inventory that dominates much of Portsmouth's housing stock. The mechanical systems are current, the layout is functional for a growing household, and the price point for this part of Portsmouth typically stays below what comparable newer construction would cost in Chesapeake or Virginia Beach.
**For first-time buyers exploring Portsmouth.** The combination of accessible pricing and newer construction is rare in this market, and the 23703 zip code in Churchland tends to offer better value than some of the more heavily marketed areas of Hampton Roads. A 2021 build removes much of the inspection anxiety that comes with older Portsmouth properties, and the no-HOA structure keeps monthly obligations straightforward. For buyers new to this region, Portsmouth's Churchland corridor is a legitimate alternative worth serious consideration.
**For buyers comparing newer homes in Portsmouth.** In a city where most of the residential inventory was built before 1980, a 2021 construction stands out immediately. Buyers evaluating houses for sale in Portsmouth, VA who are specifically filtering for newer builds will find limited options — which means properties like this one carry a scarcity value that older inventory simply doesn't. The trade-off of choosing newer construction here versus older character homes in Olde Towne or other historic pockets comes down to priorities: modern systems and predictable maintenance versus architectural detail and established neighborhood identity.
Tom and Dariya Milan at LPT Realty are the local experts behind vahome.com, and they know the Portsmouth and Churchland market well enough to give you a straight answer rather than a sales pitch. Whether you're looking at homes for sale in Portsmouth, VA for the first time or comparing this address against others in the 23703 zip code, reach out at the number on this page or visit vahome.com to start the conversation.
Summary generated by AI from public records and publicly available information.
