‘It’s a blessing,’ Local family’s home gets a second life after last year’s tornado
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A local family’s home that was damaged in the EF-3 tornado in Virginia Beach is getting a new life.
The tornado ripped through the Great Neck area in April of 2023. No one was hurt, but it left behind more than $15 million worth of damage. Virginia Beach told 10 On Your Side that 110 homes were impacted and seven were destroyed.
Julia Trice’s grandparents’ home was one of the houses completely destroyed.
“It’s just sad,” Trice said to 10 On Your Side back in May. “All of my childhood memories are in this house.”
Trice said she works for Clearview Homes, a real estate development company. When they heard about the damage, they jumped into action.
“Coming in and telling them we can do anything they needed,” Heath Kindle, owner of Clearview Homes, said.
Trice said Clearview Homes purchased the house, and said it was a blessing. The company took out all the damaged parts, and put new ones in. Kindle said some things in the house were able to stay.
“There was a whole second level that was completely gone, and a lot of the first level was gone,” Kindle said. “Getting it all out. The floors were all the existing floors — there is a new finish. A lot of the walls were salvaged.”
The renovated house is on the market.
It’s bittersweet for Trice because she said she’s leaving behind a lot of childhood memories. However, she said she’s excited for someone else to enjoy the space.
“It’s exciting to see the, literally, second life of this house,” Trice said. “Things going back up. Seeing things go back together.”
Trice said her grandparents have found a smaller space that they love.
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