Advice about Little Rock's Hillcrest Neighborhood (Van Buren, Hughes: for sale, buying a home, buying)

[Exnorthsider]

Hello:

My wife and I are considering a move to Little Rock and we are 'city' people. We are attracted to the Hillcrest neighborhood because of its independent shops, restaurants and "walkability". I also have seen a number of cute older homes that are for sale for reasonable prices.

It would be very helpful to know a bit more about the area.
For example:

1. Do people feel that the public elementary and middle schools are decent?
2. Are private schools such as Anthony School and Pulaski Academy fairly progressive? How expensive are they? Do kids from Hillcrest attend?
3. Is it safe to take walks at night, in general?
4. Can you purchase a home in a nice part of the neighborhood for $250-$300k?
5. Is there a grocery store in the neighborhood?
6. Are there any vegetarian restaurants and/or natural food stores in the area?

Thank you SO much.

[Sam I Am]

Forest Park is good but is tough to get into - waiting list and all. I personally wouldn't put a child in the middle schools.

Anthony and PA are good, you might also look into Christ Lutheran on Hughes St. and Episcopal Collegiate (EC is for Grades 6-12). Private schools are pricey - they have a captive audience.

Walking at night, particularly on Kavanaugh on the Promenade, is a favorite past time. Or cycling.

For $300K you should be able to get something very nice. Bear in mind that the homes are older, but many have been restored beautifully. Prices have kind of spiraled out of control - backlash from no longer being able to afford the Heights.

There's a Harvest Foods in Hillcrest, dead center - right behind the post office on Kavanaugh. If you go up into the Heights there is a Kroger, Terry's Finer Foods, and some specialty food shops.

I don't know of a specific vegetarian restaurant, but almost everyone has vegetarian offerings. There was some discussion about a natural foods store not too long ago...there is one on Rodney Parham that used to be a Beans and Grains and then Wild Oats. I can't remember the name now if it has changed. Whole Foods?

Most likely you will love Hillcrest. It's very homey and almost small town feeling. Look on realtor.com in zip 72205 and 72207 and get a feel for what is available...come back if there's a particular area that you seem to home in on, but Hillcrest would generally extend according to realtor parameters from about Stift Station, which is Kavanaugh and Markham, in a NW sweep until you get to Van Buren or so.

Let us know what you find!

[Exnorthsider]

Great post-- very helpful. Thank you very much!

[strumpeace]

With regard to private schools, the Catholic schools in Little Rock are very reasonably-priced, even for non-Catholics. It's a big change from Memphis (where I lived previously), where the Catholic schools were just as much into price-gouging as the other private schools.

If I had the $$ to choose any school I wanted for my son, I would pick The Cathedral School / Episcopal Collegiate School hands-down.

Hillcrest is a cool neighborhood. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the state (or in most of the surrounding states) imo.

Best wishes.

[Exnorthsider]

Thank you for the helpful information!

[Towhee]

My son and his family lived on Hillcrest for several years, not far up the hill from the Catholic School. It was a lovely neghborhhood, with friendly people. I spent one night in his house by myself, and was very comfortable doing so (and I am a country 'girl' ). I had no qualms about walking around the neighborhood by myself, but it was always in the daytime. They never had any problem with thieves there. I can't say that about the house they had previously, on Cantrell.

[Exnorthsider]

Thank you for the sweet post.

[Aporkalypse]

I think of Hillcrest as a friendly, progressive neighborhood. It has a higher percentage of gay residents and "hippieish" types and that should be considered, though many see it as an advantage. You can feel very safe walking anywhere in the neighborhood pretty much any time of day. There will be many other walkers out at the same time. The only thing that could potentially compromise safety is living within a couple of houses of Markham Ave itself. There is an excellent selection of local restaurants (Kavanaugh has half of the city's fine dining establishments) and specialty shops. There is a nice Kroger in the heart of Hillcrest at Kavanaugh which is walkable from much of the area. Elementary school is Forest Park, which is one of the better LRSD elementaries. LR private schools are reasonable. Catholic Schools are in the neighborhood itself - Holy Souls Elementary, Mt St Mary's Academy (girls) and Catholic HS (boys) are considered top notch. The Anthony School and PA are more expensive, PA a bit far away. If you don't see Catholic schools as an option I would look at the Episcopal Collegiate complex on Cantrell near downtown. By DFW standards (where I used to live) LR private schools are excellent and a bargain. $250-300k would put you in the top quartile in the neighborhood and put you in a very nice home. There are a few that run higher and would be out of reach - mostly on Hill Rd, Woodlawn, Lookout, Midland, and Ridgeway.

[mbrlr]

My wife and I lived 3 blocks up for several years on Rose and now live in Stifft's Station, which actually operates more as an extension of Hillcrest. Anything above Capitol is generally safe.

[The Mac]

It seems that you have received much advice about Hillcrest and all of it seems very accurate. My wife and I have lived in Hillcrest for the past 3 years. We love the neighborhood. I think it is the only neighborhood of its kind in Little Rock. Within 3/4 mile we have almost everything we could want -- coffee shops, great restaurants, entertainment, a grocery store and a small park. As far as buying a home, I am not sure what size home you need. The homes in Hillcrest are great and prices are all over the map. It really depends on the amount of renovations/updates as many of the homes were built in the early 1900's. I wish you luck in your search and know that if you move to Hillcrest you will be happy with the neighborhood. In fact all my friends that do not live in Hillcrest, wish they did!

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