Carys Chapel Road housing rehab project in York deemed successful by State

Recent report gives county's efforts high marks for impact and compliance related to $1.5M federally-funded grants, which were used to renovate and repair multiple homes in historic neighborhood

Mar 05, 2026

York County’s Carys Chapel Road housing rehabilitation project earned full state compliance approval, improving conditions for 27 low-income residents across 15 households through $1.5 million in federal and local funding. (Photo courtesy York County).

Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has given York County a clean bill of health on a federally funded housing rehabilitation project, finding that the county managed the initiative in full compliance with state and federal regulations.

In a Final Compliance Review letter dated February 3, 2026 and addressed to York County Administrator Mark Bellamy, DHCD summarized findings from an on-site inspection conducted January 7, 2026. The letter praised county staff not only for regulatory compliance but for building “strong relationships” with residents of the Carys Chapel Road corridor, the historic community at the center of the project.

York County’s Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Division launched the Carys Chapel Road Housing Rehabilitation Project in July 2023 after being awarded a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from HUD through the state. The initiative targeted a historic stretch of road where many homes have remained within the same families across generations, with the goal of improving deteriorating housing conditions, making homes more accessible, and helping elderly residents remain in their residences.

The project was allocated $1,346,195 in CDBG funding, with additional local non-CDBG funds committed by the county to supplement the work. The grant is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2026.

Project success

According to the compliance review letter, the project successfully improved living conditions for 15 households, benefiting a total of 27 individuals, all of whom were classified as low-to-moderate income (LMI), satisfying a primary requirement of the CDBG program.

Housing work completed or underway as of the January inspection included:

12 owner-occupied homes targeted for rehabilitation, with 10 fully complete, 1 substantially complete, and 1 still under construction at the time of the review. Three of these were funded entirely with local, non-CDBG dollars.
2 investor-owned homes fully rehabilitated to state housing standards.
1 substantial reconstruction, a full rebuild of an owner-occupied home. Originally, two homes were slated for reconstruction, but one was converted to a standard rehabilitation after floodplain regulations would have required elevating the foundation by 11 feet, a change deemed impractical for the home’s elderly occupants.
1 vacant, substandard home fully demolished.

Beyond the direct housing work, the county conducted annual neighborhood cleanups to remove junk and debris, and repaired and painted a historic “corner store” landmark owned by a local project beneficiary, a detail the state highlighted in its review.

By January 2026, York County had spent $1,541,466.52 — 91 percent of its CDBG allocation — across rehabilitation, reconstruction, administration, cleanup, and demolition. (Table by Virginia DHCD)

Financial review

As of the January 2026 inspection, York County had submitted 26 payment requests, expending a combined total of $1,541,466.52, representing 91 percent of its CDBG allocation and a substantial contribution of local matching funds.

The largest share of spending went toward owner-occupied home rehabilitation at $966,820.73, with roughly $753,000 of that drawn from CDBG funds and the remainder from local dollars. Substantial reconstruction of one home cost $259,881.51, while rehabilitation of the two investor-owned properties totaled $232,029.28. Project administration consumed $48,600, all from CDBG funds. The county-funded neighborhood cleanup cost $17,235, and demolition of the vacant substandard home came in at $16,900, split between CDBG and local sources.

The county also drew on $65,991.56 in funds recaptured from two previous housing projects in the Carver Gardens neighborhood, money recovered through home sales and refinancing, and applied those dollars to construction costs on two Carys Chapel Road properties.

At the time of the review, approximately $127,352 in CDBG funds remained unspent, with the grant set to close out in the spring.

About the CDBG program

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is a long-standing federal initiative funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Established under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, CDBG provides states and local governments with flexible federal dollars to address a wide range of community development needs, including housing rehabilitation, water and sewer infrastructure improvements, and economic development initiatives.

In Virginia, the program is administered by the DHCD, which allocates funds to eligible localities and conducts oversight reviews to ensure compliance with federal and state rules. A cornerstone requirement of the program is that the majority of funds must benefit low- and moderate-income individuals, a threshold the Carys Chapel Road project met entirely, with 100 percent of its beneficiaries qualifying as LMI.

CDBG grants are awarded competitively and are typically tied to specific projects with defined scopes and timelines. Localities are required to track expenditures, document beneficiary eligibility, and submit to periodic state compliance reviews, such as the one conducted in York County this January. The Carys Chapel Road Housing Rehabilitation Project grant period is scheduled to conclude on April 30, 2026.

Recent reporting …