Dollar Signs Hover Over Old Parole

Neighborhood's Property Values Have Soared, Raising a Question: Sell or Stay?

The Chambers family has deep roots in Parole, as does Mount Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church. Above are D. Deloris Chambers, center, with grandchild Kalin Lamkin, 7 months; Jalen Lamkin, 4; John Chambers Jr., a former Annapolis mayor; his sister-in-law, Hannah; and Alma Cropper, a cousin, right. (By Linda Davidson -- The Washington Post)

Peering through the antique windows of their wooden 19th-century-style homes, some residents of the historic African American neighborhood of Parole say they see the looming shadows of commercial sprawl creeping to their doorsteps.

With their once affordable homes now hot property, they fear the loss of the vibrant community a few miles west of downtown Annapolis. "This community will stay 10 years for the most, and after that, there will be a turnover," said Alma Cropper, 71, a longtime resident. Her family, the Chamberses, represents six generations, beginning with her grandfather, who was one of Parole's earliest homeowners.

In Annapolis, developers are investing heavily in the West Street and Solomons Island Road area around Parole, and the demand for land is increasing. Market prices for homes have quadrupled since 1995, real estate agents and city officials said.

The rising values have sharply increased property taxes, prompting some heirs and longtime residents to sell and seek more affordable housing elsewhere. But change has been good for some homeowners, who have made large profits selling long-held properties.

In a city that is one-third African American, black homeownership has been concentrated in Parole and a few other neighborhoods, such as Eastport. That has been changing for some time, however. In Eastport, for instance, black homeownership went from 26 percent in 1970 to 17 percent in 2000, U.S. Census data show.

"There has been some loss of African American residents in the past, and as property values continue to rise, there would be further decline in African Americans as part of the population over time," said Joseph E. Cater III, president of Market-Economics Inc., an Annapolis-based firm, who has conducted studies on changes in historic neighborhoods.

New condos in Parole are going for $150,000 and higher, and some remodeled single-family houses sell for $250,000 to $500,000. Annapolis is expected to get wealthier in the next decade as young professionals and empty nesters flock there from other affluent suburban areas. They are attracted to the city's small-town feel and quality of life, Cater said.

The Annapolis area also has attracted large numbers of Hispanics, lured by new jobs in construction and restaurants. Many have settled in the Parole area because of its proximity to these work sites.

"The families pool their resources and buy in partnership," said Nicolas Gomez, an Eastport resident who does community outreach with Hispanic residents in Parole.

Charlotte Newton, 57, whose deceased aunt's home is one of six left standing along West Street, said the new arrivals "aren't as closely knit as they used to be. You don't even know your neighbors."

Parole was long the center of black life in Annapolis, however.

"In the city of Annapolis, because of housing segregation in the past, African Americans had to stick together, creating these tight-knit communities where they patroned the same stores, went to the same churches, bought their own land and became homeowners," said Carl Snowden, who represented the area on the City Council for 12 years and whose relatives have lived in Parole for decades.