Quick answer
Accomack County has been awarded $1.25 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding for a Horntown neighborhood-improvement project on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Local planning officials say the work is expected to include six home reconstructions, four demolition-only properties, and targeted septic and well improvements. The award is confirmed, but the state contract was still pending as of October 7, and construction had not begun.
What was announced
On October 6, Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s office announced $22,738,858.67 in Community Development Block Grant awards for 17 Virginia projects. The published award list includes $1,250,000 for Accomack County’s “Horntown Community Improvement Implementation Grant 2026.” [1]
The funding is part of a federal housing and community-development program administered in Virginia by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The state said its 2026 award pool combines approximately $19 million in new U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding with money carried over from a prior year. Statewide, the awards are expected to leverage $9.7 million in local investment. Those statewide figures should not be confused with the amount allocated to Horntown. [1][4]
Horntown is in Accomack County, within Virginia’s Second Congressional District. The award is a specific new federal investment in housing and essential infrastructure on the Eastern Shore, rather than a general statewide pledge.
What the project would do
The Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission applied for the grant on the county’s behalf on July 1, according to October 7 reporting by WBOC and Shore Daily News, which quoted the commission’s housing-development director, Eric Horito. [2][5]
Local officials described work that includes repairing or replacing failing septic systems, upgrading wells, demolishing derelict structures, rehabilitating homes, and reconstructing homes considered beyond repair. Reconstructed homes would be built on their original footprints.
A commission community-development coordinator told WBOC that the current targeted-property plan includes six complete home reconstructions and four demolition-only properties. The six rebuilt homes are expected to have functioning septic systems. [2]
These are proposed project activities described by local administrators, not evidence that six replacement homes have already been built or that every property in Horntown will receive improvements. The published state award notice does not itself provide an address-level recipient list, construction budget by activity, or a final procurement schedule.
Why septic and well systems matter
Housing quality depends on more than roofs and walls. Failed septic systems can create sanitation and environmental risks; unreliable wells can leave households without dependable drinking water. Rebuilding a house without correcting those systems would leave an important part of the underlying problem unresolved.
That is why the Horntown project combines housing reconstruction with water and wastewater work. It is also why the award should not be described simply as a new-home construction program: demolition, rehabilitation, septic and well work are distinct parts of the proposal.
The project could improve conditions for selected households and remove hazardous structures. Its eventual impact will depend on completed contracts, the properties actually served, and the quality of finished work.
What happens next
The grant award is not the same as a signed construction contract. On October 7, the planning district commission told local news outlets that it was awaiting the formal award letter and state contract. Procurement and project setup would follow execution of that contract. Officials said they hoped work could begin in late fall or early winter, but explicitly made that timeline contingent on state administrative processing. [2][5]
Residents therefore should not interpret the October 6 announcement as confirmation that construction crews have been scheduled or that specific homes have been approved for immediate rebuilding.
How this fits into earlier Horntown work
The newly announced $1.25 million award is separate from an earlier local funding action. In March 2025, Shore Daily News reported that Accomack County supervisors had approved a $150,000 award to the planning district commission for removal of derelict structures in Horntown, subject to an agreement. [3]
The existence of that earlier award helps establish that neighborhood housing conditions have been a sustained local concern. It does not establish that the 2025 money has all been spent, that its work has been completed, or that the two awards cover exactly the same properties.
What to watch
Three records will make the new award easier to evaluate: the executed state grant agreement, the procurement and contractor notices, and public progress reports showing which categories of work have been completed.
Those records would allow residents to distinguish money awarded from money spent, planned reconstruction from completed homes, and promised sanitation improvements from functioning installed systems.
Bottom line
The $1.25 million Horntown grant is a documented, newly announced federal investment in a VA-02 community with identified housing, septic and well needs. Local officials have described a targeted plan involving six reconstructions and four demolition-only properties. As of October 7, the formal state contract was still pending, so the project should be reported as funded but not yet under construction.
Sources
- Governor Spanberger Announces $23 Million in Grants for Community Development Across the Commonwealth — Governor of Virginia. The official release lists 17 Virginia CDBG projects totaling $22,738,858.67, including $1,250,000 for Accomack County’s Horntown Community Improvement Implementation Grant 2026; it also reports approximately $9.7 million in local leveraged investment and approximately $19 million in new HUD funding combined with carryover.
- Accomack County awarded $1.25 million to upgrade Horntown’s housing and septic — WBOC. A-NPDC officials described the July 1 application, septic and well work, demolition, rehabilitation and reconstruction scope, six full reconstructions, four demolition-only properties, functioning septic systems for the six, and a pending official letter and state contract.
- ANPDC awarded $150K to remove derelict structures in Horntown area — Shore Daily News. The Accomack County Board of Supervisors approved a separate $150,000 award to A-NPDC for Horntown derelict-structure removal, conditioned on an agreement.
- Community Development Block Grant comprehensive neighborhood improvements program — Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. Virginia’s CDBG program administers federal community-development funding for eligible housing, infrastructure and related improvements.
- Accomack awarded $1.25 million for Horntown housing improvements — Shore Daily News. Local reporting on the grant application, proposed activities, pending state contract and conditional construction timeline.
- Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission — Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission. Public agency site for the planning commission administering local community development.