2843 Princess Anne Road E is a four-bedroom, three-bath single-family home in Norfolk's Haynes Tract neighborhood, offering 2,206 square feet of living space on a property built in 1952. What sets this address apart is the combination of genuine mid-century bones, a walkable urban pocket, and one of the shortest commutes to a Coast Guard installation you'll find anywhere in Hampton Roads.
Haynes Tract sits in the southeastern quadrant of Norfolk, a part of the city that doesn't always make the headline real estate conversations but earns quiet loyalty from the people who actually live there. The neighborhood developed largely in the postwar years — the 1940s and 1950s — when returning veterans and their families needed practical, well-built housing close to the naval and maritime infrastructure that defines this region. That era left behind a streetscape of solid masonry construction, mature trees, and lots sized generously enough that neighbors don't feel stacked on top of one another.
HAYNES TRACT homes share a character that's hard to manufacture in newer subdivisions: genuine variety. You'll find ranch-style homes alongside two-story colonials, brick exteriors alongside painted frame construction, and front porches that actually get used. There's no HOA at this address, which means no monthly dues and no architectural review board weighing in on your paint color choices. For buyers who want the community feel of an established neighborhood without the overhead of a homeowners association, that combination is worth noting.
The Broad Creek corridor runs nearby, adding a natural buffer and green space that softens what is otherwise a fairly dense urban grid. It's the kind of neighborhood where people have lived for decades and have no particular plans to leave — which, depending on your perspective, is either the best or the most honest thing you can say about a place.
Living in Norfolk
Norfolk occupies a complicated and genuinely interesting position in the Hampton Roads housing market. It's the urban core of a metro area that also includes Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth, and it tends to offer more square footage per dollar than its neighbors to the south and east. For buyers who've been watching Virginia Beach prices and doing the math on what they'd actually get, homes for sale in Norfolk often reframe the conversation.
The trade-off is context, not quality. Norfolk's housing stock skews older — a meaningful portion of the city's single-family homes were built before 1960 — which means buyers need to approach inspections with appropriate seriousness. Roof age, HVAC condition, electrical panel configuration, and plumbing materials are all worth scrutinizing carefully in this zip code. A well-maintained 1952 home can be a genuinely excellent purchase; a neglected one can surprise you. The difference shows up in the inspection report, not the listing photos.
Norfolk also carries a coastal flooding reality that varies significantly by neighborhood and elevation. That review is handled separately in the flood-zone tile on this page, but it's worth knowing that VaHome's standard buyer process includes that analysis as a matter of course. Beyond the practical considerations, living in Norfolk means proximity to a real city — waterfront dining, arts venues, a working port, and a transit network that actually functions. For buyers relocating from larger metro areas, the urban texture here tends to feel familiar in a way that the more suburban parts of Hampton Roads don't.
What's Nearby
The immediate surroundings of 2843 Princess Anne Road E lean heavily walkable by Norfolk standards, which is saying something in a city that's more car-dependent than its density might suggest. Broad Creek Legacy Park sits roughly a tenth of a mile from the front door — close enough that it functions as an extension of the backyard for anyone who values outdoor space without maintaining it. The broader Broad Creek Park corridor extends the green space further, and the Broad Creek Neighborhood Spot adds a smaller community gathering point just a few steps beyond that.
For fitness, the Salvation Army Kroc Center Hampton Roads is approximately two-tenths of a mile away — a full-service recreation facility that operates well beyond the scope of a typical community gym. If you haven't encountered a Kroc Center before, they tend to offer pools, fitness equipment, courts, and programming that rivals private health clubs, often at significantly lower membership costs. That's a genuine amenity for a household with active adults or kids.
Daily errands are handled within a short walk. A Walmart Neighborhood Market sits roughly six-tenths of a mile north, which covers grocery runs without requiring a car. A BP station is even closer, under half a mile, for those quick top-offs. A Wawa is about the same distance — and if you're new to Hampton Roads, understanding the local reverence for Wawa is practically part of the orientation process. PJ's Coffee is also within walking range for a slightly more sit-down morning option.
For food delivery nights, a Domino's and Fabio's Pizza & Delivery are both within about four-tenths of a mile, which means the pizza arrives warm. These aren't destination dining options, but the practical point is that this address has the kind of walkable service layer that makes daily life genuinely easier.
Commuting to USCG Base Portsmouth
USCG Base Portsmouth sits approximately 2.6 miles from this address — a drive that typically runs around five minutes under normal conditions. In Hampton Roads, where cross-water commutes via the Downtown Tunnel or the High Rise Bridge can easily add thirty to forty-five minutes to a base commute, a five-minute drive is a meaningful quality-of-life variable. For active-duty Coast Guard members and civilian employees assigned to Portsmouth, this address is about as close as residential Norfolk gets.
Homes near USCG Base Portsmouth attract a specific buyer profile: Coast Guard families on PCS orders who want to minimize daily commute friction, often while managing a move on a compressed timeline. The no-HOA structure at this address is particularly relevant for that group, since PCS timelines don't always allow for the extended HOA review and approval processes that some neighborhoods require before closing.
Current BAH rates for Norfolk reflect the area's positioning as a mid-tier cost market within the Hampton Roads metro — generally more favorable for stretching housing allowance than Virginia Beach or the Oceanfront corridor, while still putting buyers within reach of the naval and Coast Guard infrastructure concentrated on the western side of the water. For members considering whether to use BAH toward a mortgage rather than rent, the math in this zip code tends to be worth running carefully.
It's also worth noting that NAS Norfolk, the world's largest naval station, is roughly fifteen to twenty minutes northeast depending on traffic and entry point. Naval Station Norfolk draws the largest single concentration of military personnel in the region, so even buyers without a Coast Guard affiliation will find that this address sits in a well-understood PCS market — one where lenders, title companies, and agents have processed hundreds of military transactions and know how to move efficiently.
A Walk Through the Property
At 2,206 square feet across four bedrooms and three full baths, 2843 Princess Anne Road E offers more space than the typical postwar Norfolk home in this part of the city. The 1952 construction date places it squarely in the mid-century residential tradition — a period that prioritized functional room sizes, solid masonry or frame construction, and layouts that separated living, dining, and sleeping areas more distinctly than the open-floor-plan era that followed.
Four bedrooms in a home of this era typically means three standard bedrooms plus one room that functions as a flex space — home office, guest room, or fourth bedroom depending on household needs. Three full baths in a 1952 home is notably generous; many contemporaries were built with one and a half, so the additional bathrooms likely reflect either original construction choices or subsequent additions that expanded the footprint thoughtfully.
There is no pool and no HOA, which simplifies both ongoing maintenance costs and the closing process. The property sits without waterfront designation, meaning the physical lot does not adjoin a navigable waterway — though, again, flood-zone review is handled separately and is worth completing regardless. The absence of a pool removes one of the more significant ongoing maintenance line items for a home of this age and size.
A Day in the Life
A Tuesday morning here might start with a walk to the Kroc Center before the city fully wakes up, followed by a Wawa run on the way back. The Broad Creek Legacy Park is close enough for a lunch break walk that doesn't require planning. An evening pizza order arrives from less than half a mile away. The Coast Guard commute clears before most Hampton Roads traffic patterns even develop.
Weekends open up the broader Norfolk geography — the waterfront at Town Point Park, the restaurants along Granby Street, the Virginia Zoo a few miles northwest. Portsmouth's Olde Towne district is a short drive across the water, with its own independent restaurant scene and historic streetscape. The lifestyle here isn't about a single amenity; it's about the density of ordinary, functional convenience layered under access to everything the Hampton Roads metro actually offers.
For Military Families Considering This Address
For a Coast Guard family evaluating a PCS to Norfolk, the math at this address is straightforward. Five minutes to base, no HOA complications, four bedrooms for a household that may include children or need a dedicated workspace, and a zip code where BAH rates in Norfolk are calibrated to make ownership genuinely competitive with renting. The no-HOA structure means fewer approval layers between offer acceptance and closing — relevant when PCS timelines compress.
For Hampton Roads Families Upgrading from a Starter Home
Four bedrooms and three full baths represent a meaningful step up from the two-bedroom, one-bath starter inventory that dominates parts of Norfolk's older housing stock. The 2,206-square-foot footprint gives growing households room to actually grow — separate spaces for work, sleep, and common living rather than a single open floor plan that everyone occupies simultaneously.
For First-Time Buyers Exploring Norfolk
Norfolk's accessibility relative to Virginia Beach makes it a natural entry point for buyers who've been priced out of the beach corridor or simply want more house per dollar. A 1952 home at this size and configuration offers genuine value, provided buyers approach the inspection process seriously. Systems — HVAC, roof, electrical — deserve careful review in any home of this era. The reward for doing that work is a well-located property in an established neighborhood with no HOA overhead.
For Buyers Comparing Mid-Century Homes in Norfolk
Mid-century construction in Norfolk varies considerably in quality and condition. The homes that have been maintained or updated thoughtfully tend to hold their value well; the ones that haven't tend to require concentrated investment in the first two to three years of ownership. At 2,206 square feet with four bedrooms, this address sits at the larger end of the 1950s Norfolk single-family inventory — a size that was less common in this era than the two- and three-bedroom ranches that dominate comparable streets.
Tom and Dariya Milan at LPT Realty specialize in exactly this kind of evaluation — helping buyers understand what they're actually getting in a mid-century Norfolk home before they're committed. Whether you're a Coast Guard family running the military housing numbers, a growing household ready to move up, or a first-time buyer trying to make sense of the Norfolk market, reach out at vahome.com or by phone to start the conversation with people who know this part of Hampton Roads well.
Summary generated by AI from public records and publicly available information.
