ONANCOCK, VA – A local non-profit organization is on the path to revitalization in the Bayside community outside of Onancock after receiving it's first significant grant. The Accomack County Board of Supervisors voted last week to award $150,000 to Onancock Bayside Revitalization to fund the demolition of up to 22 derelict structures in the three-mile community.
When organization founder Myra Riley-Taylor returned to Bayside Road after a decades-long career in Washington, D.C., she said she noticed the decline of her childhood neighborhood.
"I was just a little disenchanted with the condition of my birthplace community," Riley-Taylor said "I talked to a couple of the people here and we decided that we would do a revitalization."
Founded in 2018, Onancock Bayside Revitalization aims to create a network of resources for the advancement of the Bayside Community.
Shirlene Shrieves, who grew up alongside Riley-Taylor on Bayside Road, said the dilapidated homes deterred people with familial connections to the community from moving back.
"A lot of the younger people from the neighborhood want to come back," Shrieves said. "Right now, there's not places for them to be able to live."
Many of the homes in the area lack indoor plumbing, and the high installation cost has led property owners to abandon their homes. Riley-Taylor said the county grant will provide the momentum needed for change.
"We are hopeful that we will be able to restore some of the lots that we have in which we are removing the structures so that people can return back to the neighborhood," Riley-Taylor said.
The grant agreement allows for the removal of up to 22 derelict structures, marking the first step in the rebuilding of the neighborhood people like Riley-Taylor and Shrieves remember.
"We'd like them to come back and see kids walk on the street again," Shrieves said. "Playing basketball, you know, doing sports like we used to."
Riley-Taylor said their goal is to make Bayside like any other neighborhood. Onancock Bayside Revitalization has its sights set on other projects in the future, including erecting signs at the community limits, sidewalks and streetlights.
Our goal is to have this like any other neighborhood,” Riley-Taylor said.
Leaders with Onancock Bayside Revitalization said they are committed to collaborating with the county on other priority issues, including rezoning the agricultural neighborhood to a residential one, which Riley-Taylor said would make the construction of new homes easier.
Onancock Bayside Revitalization must complete several steps before demolition can begin, including a title search to verify the ownership of each property and checks for asbestos.