Whatchu know 'bout Oregon Hill?

             Oregon Hill is a fascinating, ever-changing neighborhood.  Already rich in Richmond history, it continues to be an important part of the city’s developing history while undergoes changes in its population and dynamic.

In 1968, the Richmond Downtown Expressway razed almost one hundred structures. Virginia Commonwealth University, to the north, has demolished entire blocks of residences.

            The complete demolition of all the houses on a three block area was a source of bitter contention between the neighborhood and the Ethyl Corporation, which owned the land. Ethyl had planned to do more, but had too much resistance from residents.

             “They successfully fought off Ethyl which purchased land and was going to do different things, including put up some apartments, put a research facility, put a theater up at one point,” explained Oregon Hill resident Lynn Ivey.  “They successfully thwarted Ethyl as well as VCU who wanted to start marching towards the river to put up dorms, and basically do the stuff that ultimately ended up doing on Board Street.”

To contrast all the destruction, recently there has been much development throughout Oregon Hill.

Jennifer Hancock is the President of the Board of the Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council (OHHIC), the President of the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) and a resident of the neighborhood.  She moved into the neighborhood around 2003. 

            “My home was a market rate house built by OHHIC, our local nonprofit,” Hancock said.  OHHIC has been renovating and building workforce housing in the neighborhood since the 1970’s.  “Market rate houses were sold to help OHHIC offset the cost of selling affordable houses at a loss,” Hancock explained. 

            According to Hancock, OHHIC was originally started as a way to help the original families of Oregon Hill to become homeowners after renting for generations, in the face of gentrification.  “When I moved into the neighborhood, this was still very much a concern,” Hancock said.  “Housing prices were climbing.  The assessment on my home went up 28%.”

            “I know that it is hard to remember that time now that we are in a recession, but [Oregon Hill residents] was concerned about people being pushed out of the neighborhood that they had lived in for their entire life.”  OHHIC has been able to help someone of these residents.

Infill projects have erected houses in lots that were previously vacant due to fires or other demolition. Many old buildings have either been renovated or torn down and replaced with townhouses. As of 2007, a new townhouse complex called "The Overlook" has been mostly completed and inhabited on the blocks overlooking the James River.  

Robert Fritzman is one of the residents of The Overlook.  “I mean, I heard it was the ghetto and whenever I tell people where I live, the first face they make is one of shock,” Fritzman said. 

Now that he has been living there almost a year, he’s warmed up to the area, but still has some mixed feelings. “It's a great neighborhood and I love living there; however, I think it's still somewhat a little unsafe. Just last Friday the cops were on my street again because a guy was trying to break into everyone’s cars,” Fritzman said.

“I love the location of Oregon hill and the fact that I am so close to the Fan without paying the price to live in the Fan. I just wish they would spend some time cleaning up the homeless problem and some of the houses.”

            Jennifer Hancock has noticed several issues with an of students and young people.  “Noise and parties are a concern, usually at the beginning of the school year.  After the police get called a few times, they will usually settle down,” Hancock said. 

            As Fritzman pointed out, crime can also be an issue.  Hancock agrees.  “Many of these students have never lived in an urban environment and there is a bit of a learning curve.  Such as don’t leave valuables in plain sight in your car.  Or if you allow anyone to show at your party, you may end up being the victim of a theft.” 

            Hancock pointed out that learning the ins and outs of city living can be a struggle for students.  “What day is trash day?  Recycle day?  Why do they pick up trash in the alley, but recycles on the sidewalk?  Why can’t I leave my recycle bin on the sidewalk 24/7?  My dog/cat is lost.  Help!” 

            She added, “And those of us that have seen the neighborhood change are still trying to learn to live with the students and trying to figure out how to connect with a constantly changing population,” Hancock explained.  “You get one group trained and it’s time for the new group to move in.”

            Any other problems the students are causing?  “Parking. Parking. And, oh yeah, parking.”  Hancock says it’s a common occurrence to have three, four or more students renting or living in a house and each student has a car. 

            She also said commuter students park there because it’s free.  As a result, neighbors are having to park blocks from their houses.

            Hancock had one last thing to add on the topic of students.  “With a large and constantly shifting population, and the loss of many long-time Oregon Hill residents, it can be hard to find volunteers for neighborhood activities.  Students are often not interested.  They don’t feel like it is their neighborhood/home.  They are leaving in a couple of years (although many, to their surprise, end up staying after they graduate).”

            To clarify, Hancock doesn’t feel that the students are necessarily “pushing” the older generations out (as in gentrification). 

“Now that gentrification is no longer a concern, student renters are the big concern.  A neighbor forwarded a study that showed that levels of poverty are rising in OH.  I suspect that the decrease in income levels can be attributed to the students (not because of poverty, although students are often poor, but because they are students.  They have part-time jobs or get money from their parents or student loans.  When they graduate, their incomes should start rising, I hope.  We are in a recession.).  Gentrification is never mentioned anymore.”

But some feel the increase in students may not be such a bad thing.  “It was run down, dirty, slummy, and overall sketchy,” said former Oregon Hill resident Nathan Faison.  “I started noticing that as VCU expanded, more and more college students were pushing out and filling farther and farther reaches of Oregon Hill. It seems that the population shift now has students out-numbering the older lower class inhabitants. Renovations look like they’re having a good impact as well, especially in the backside reaches near the back of Hollywood [Cemetery].”

Besides students, Oregon Hill has its share of characters.  Lynn Ivey remembers Robert Brunk, a “70-something year old man” who would stop people on Laurel Street and make them pay him a dollar to move on, much like a toll.   “He had a red hat and was obviously not completely wired,” Ivey explained.  “He was very tall and very lean and would walk up to the side of your car and go ‘hey buddy, hey buddy, gimme a dollar, gimme a dollar’.” 

Ivey added, “I started keeping dollars in my car just to give him one,” Ivey said.  If you opened your wallet and saw that you had more in your wallet, he’d ask for more.  Ivey isn’t sure if Brunk lived in the neighborhood, but he says he was always around.

The neighborhood retains some of its original architecture and working-class feel, while mixing with newly constructed buildings and the energy of the VCU students and young professionals who may be new to the area.  Oregon Hill is truly a unique neighborhood, holding onto its history while transitioning into the future as a desirable place to live.