Some of Virginia's smallest towns and most rural counties are getting federal money to fix up old homes, build new ones and put in the water and sewer lines that make housing possible.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Oct. 6 announced $22.7 million in Community Development Block Grants for 17 projects across the state, according to a release from the governor's office. The projects come with $9.7 million in local money on top of the grants.
The program sends federal money to local governments for housing, infrastructure and economic development needs. The state Department of Housing and Community Development, which has run Virginia's CDBG program since 1982, administers the grants. The release says this year's awards use about $19 million in new funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, plus money carried over from last year.
The housing projects
Five of the awards are aimed directly at housing:
- Floyd County, Infrastructure with Housing Production 2026: $1,798,487
- Westmoreland County, Jerusalem Church Road Housing Rehabilitation Project: $1,500,000
- York County, York Terrace Northwest Housing Rehabilitation Project 2026: $1,500,000
- Town of Lawrenceville, Park Street Phase 2 Housing Project: $883,795
- Town of Pennington Gap, N. Kentucky Street Housing Rehabilitation Project: $870,025
Together, those five come to about $6.55 million.
The Town of Bridgewater also received $833,384 for water and sewer infrastructure in the Fountainhead Subdivision.
The rest of the list
The other awards cover infrastructure, downtowns and community facilities:
- Tazewell County Leachate Tank: $2,000,000
- Amherst County, South Madison Heights Infrastructure Project 2026: $1,999,843
- Wise County, Riverview Waterline Replacement Project Phase I: $1,915,714
- Henry County, Old Bassett Heights Road Rehabilitation: $1,500,000
- Town of Blackstone, Taylors Bottom Improvement Project Phase I: $1,406,130
- Accomack County, Horntown Community Improvement Implementation Grant 2026: $1,250,000
- City of Martinsville, Martinsville Early Learning Center: $1,250,000
- Lee County, St. Charles–Bonny Blue WLR Project: $1,246,125
- Town of Fincastle, Fincastle Historic District Revitalization 2026: $1,244,642
- Town of Tazewell, North Tazewell Business District Façade Improvement Project: $976,530.67
- Town of Honaker, Honaker Downtown Revitalization: $564,183
"Community development block grants remain one of our most effective tools to encourage durable growth in every region of the Commonwealth," Spanberger said in the release. "By investing more than $20 million directly into our cities and counties, we are expanding affordable housing options, supporting local priorities, and building sustainable infrastructure for Virginians."
DHCD Director Tamarah Holmes said the grants will make a difference "whether providing clean drinking water, safe sewage disposal, or preserving housing units."
Commerce and Trade Secretary Carrie Chenery said pairing state, federal and local money will help "further drive down housing costs, revitalize downtown business districts, and grow the good jobs that Virginians need to thrive."
Why it matters for Contractors
Block grant money doesn't stay in an office. It turns into contracts for roofs, windows, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, accessibility upgrades, water lines, sewer lines, roads and storefront facades. The awards are spread from the Eastern Shore to the far southwest corner of the state, so the work lands in communities of every size, many of them small towns.
Housing rehab grants like the ones in Westmoreland, York and Pennington Gap usually pay for repairs on many individual homes rather than one big job. That can mean a string of smaller contracts for local remodelers and trades over the life of the project. The Floyd County and Lawrenceville projects include new housing production, and Floyd's pairs it with infrastructure work.
The infrastructure side is big too. The largest single award, $2 million, goes to Tazewell County for a leachate tank, while Amherst County's infrastructure project and Wise County's waterline replacement each top $1.9 million. That is work for utility, site and civil contractors.
CDBG is federal money, so contractors should expect the paperwork that comes with it. Depending on the job, that can include federal wage rules, insurance and bonding requirements, and procurement rules set by the local government running the project.
The best way to get in is through the local government that won the grant. Counties and towns typically hire their own project managers and put the construction work out to bid. Contractors near any of these 17 communities should watch for bid notices and get on local vendor lists now, before the work is advertised.