173 Noble Street is a three-bedroom, two-bath single-family home in Portsmouth's Truxton subdivision — 1,300 square feet of 1970s residential construction sitting less than a mile from some of the most active military and maritime employment in the entire country. The defining angle here is proximity: very few addresses in Hampton Roads put you this close to Norfolk Naval Shipyard while still landing you in a walkable, established neighborhood with a park literally steps from the front door.
What Truxton has going for it beyond the housing stock is its position within Portsmouth's broader geography. It sits close enough to the Elizabeth River waterfront that a short drive puts you at the Olde Towne waterfront district, and it's connected to the rest of the city without requiring highway access for most daily errands. There's no HOA governing this address, which means no monthly fees, no architectural review board, and no restrictions on parking your work truck in the driveway — a practical detail that matters more than it sounds for military families and tradespeople. The neighborhood has a lived-in, unpretentious quality that tends to attract buyers who want a real place to live rather than a lifestyle brand.
Living in Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the kind of city that gets underestimated at dinner parties and then surprises people once they actually spend time here. It has some of the most accessible median home prices in all of Hampton Roads, which makes it a logical first stop for first-time buyers, VA loan users, and investors looking for cash-flow properties without the premium that Norfolk or Virginia Beach command. If you're searching for homes for sale in Portsmouth VA, you'll notice quickly that the dollar-per-square-foot math here is different from most of the region — in a favorable direction.
The trade-off the city is honest about is older housing stock. A meaningful percentage of Portsmouth's residential inventory predates 1960, and even homes from the 1970s — like 173 Noble Street — warrant careful inspection attention to electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems. That's not a knock on the city; it's just the reality of buying in an established urban market. The upside of that same vintage is that construction quality from that era often included materials and methods that newer tract homes don't replicate. Portsmouth has also been investing steadily in its waterfront and downtown core, and Olde Towne in particular has seen genuine appreciation over the past several years — the kind that tends to ripple outward into surrounding neighborhoods over time.
What's Nearby
The immediate walkability around 173 Noble Street is genuinely useful rather than just technically present. Maplewood Park is roughly a one-minute walk from the front door — close enough that it functions less like a neighborhood amenity and more like an extension of the backyard. Highland Biltmore Park is about a four-minute walk in the other direction, giving this address two separate green spaces within easy reach for morning walks, dog exercise, or just getting outside without getting in a car.
For daily errands, the corridor within a half-mile handles most basics. A Kroger is about nine-tenths of a mile away — three minutes on foot if you're moving — which covers the full grocery run. A Dollar General sits closer at roughly six-tenths of a mile for fill-in trips. Coffee options are genuinely competitive in this stretch: a Starbucks is about a six-minute walk, Dunkin' is just under a mile, and a 7-Eleven is closer still at half a mile if you just need something fast before a shift.
Dining within walking distance skews casual and local. New York Pizza and Deli is about half a mile away, which is the kind of proximity that becomes a problem for your food budget once you discover it. KD's Soul Food Kitchen is in the same radius and has the sort of loyal following that tends to mean the food is worth the loyalty. Hay Hing Chinese rounds out the immediate options, also within half a mile. For fitness, Sports Performance House is about a mile out — walkable for the motivated, a quick drive for everyone else. The overall picture is a neighborhood where a car is useful but not strictly required for daily life.
Commuting to Norfolk Naval Shipyard
At approximately 2.5 miles and five minutes by car, 173 Noble Street is about as close to Norfolk Naval Shipyard as a residential address can get while still being in a real neighborhood. NNSY is one of the largest and oldest naval shipyards in the United States, employing a mix of active-duty Navy personnel, Department of Defense civilians, and a substantial contractor workforce. For any of those groups, the commute from Noble Street is essentially nonexistent by Hampton Roads standards.
For active-duty sailors, this address makes particular sense during shore duty rotations when daily commute time actually matters and when families want stability — the ability to get home quickly, be present for routines, and not spend an hour in I-264 traffic each way. The Portsmouth and Norfolk corridor around NNSY has long been a first choice for E-5 through O-3 personnel on VA loans who want to own rather than rent during a multi-year assignment. The math usually works: VA financing, no down payment, a purchase price well within the BAH-supported range for the area, and a commute that doesn't erode the quality-of-life benefit of living close to work.
For DOD civilians and contractors, the calculus is similar. NNSY civilians tend to have longer tenures than their active-duty counterparts, which means the investment case for buying near the yard is even stronger — you're not necessarily planning around a three-year PCS cycle. The surrounding Portsmouth neighborhoods have housed shipyard workers for generations, and the infrastructure of the area — from the road network to the service businesses — reflects that history.
A Walk Through the Property
Built in 1970, 173 Noble Street is a single-family residential home with three bedrooms and two full baths across 1,300 square feet. The 1970s construction era in Portsmouth typically produced homes with straightforward floor plans — functional layouts without the open-concept engineering of newer builds, but also without the quirky compartmentalization of pre-war homes. Rooms tend to be defined and proportional, which works well for households that want actual walls between living spaces.
The square footage is honest for the bedroom count. At roughly 433 square feet per bedroom on average (accounting for shared living space), the layout supports a small family or a household that uses one bedroom as a dedicated office or workspace. Two full baths for a three-bedroom home is a practical configuration that avoids the morning scheduling conflicts that a single-bath layout creates.
There is no HOA at this address, no pool, and no basement to worry about. The lot is standard for the Truxton subdivision — manageable in size, which keeps maintenance realistic without eliminating outdoor usability. For buyers comparing properties in this price tier, the absence of HOA fees is a meaningful monthly savings that compounds over the life of ownership.
A Day in the Life at 173 Noble Street
A weekday morning here probably starts with a walk to Maplewood Park — it's close enough that it becomes a habit rather than a decision. Coffee from Starbucks or a quick stop at the 7-Eleven on the way back. If you work at the shipyard, you're at the gate in under ten minutes. If you work elsewhere in Hampton Roads, you're on the highway network quickly via the local road grid.
Evenings in Truxton tend to be quiet. The neighborhood doesn't generate much through traffic, which keeps the residential streets calm after work hours. Dinner options within walking distance mean you don't have to cook every night unless you want to. Weekends open up the broader Portsmouth and Norfolk waterfront — Olde Towne is a short drive, the Elizabeth River Trail is accessible, and the ferry to Norfolk runs regularly for anyone who wants to cross the water without dealing with tunnel traffic.
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For military families considering this address, the five-minute commute to Norfolk Naval Shipyard is the headline, but the supporting details matter too. No HOA means fewer restrictions and lower carrying costs. The VA loan eligibility of a property like this — single-family, established neighborhood, priced within the Hampton Roads conforming range — makes the financing path relatively clean. And the stability of the Truxton neighborhood means that even if orders come through, the property has a rental market to fall back on.
For Hampton Roads families upgrading from a starter home, 173 Noble Street represents a chance to step into a three-bedroom, two-bath configuration with two full baths and a second bedroom that can actually serve as a home office or guest room — not just a closet with a window. The Portsmouth market's price accessibility means more of your equity from a previous sale goes further here than it would in Virginia Beach or Chesapeake.
For buyers new to Hampton Roads exploring the region's options, Portsmouth is worth understanding before you assume Norfolk or Virginia Beach is the default. The houses for sale in Portsmouth VA consistently offer more square footage per dollar than most of the surrounding cities, and Truxton's location — close to employment, close to parks, walkable to basics — is the kind of neighborhood profile that's harder to find than it looks on a map.
For buyers comparing similar-era homes in Portsmouth, the 1970s inventory in this city varies considerably in condition and configuration. What distinguishes a property like this one is the combination of two full baths, a functional three-bedroom layout, and a location that doesn't require a car for every errand. Buyers evaluating this vintage should weight inspection results heavily and look at HVAC age, roof condition, and electrical panel type — those are the variables that separate a sound purchase from a costly one.
Tom and Dariya Milan at LPT Realty specialize in helping buyers navigate exactly this kind of decision — whether you're PCSing to the area, buying your first home, or comparing options across Portsmouth's established neighborhoods. Reach out at vahome.com or call directly to talk through what 173 Noble Street looks like for your specific situation.
Summary generated by AI from public records and publicly available information.
