Norfolk Receives $522,000 to Restore Historic Church

A state preservation grant will fund building envelope repairs at St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Norfolk.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in African-American

Weathered red-brick historic church with a stone bell tower, partly wrapped in scaffolding, on a tree-lined urban street under overcast daylight. — The City of Norfolk received a $522,000 state grant to restore St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of eight projects totaling $2,052,650. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should Virginia use public funds to restore historic Black churches and community sites?

The City of Norfolk was awarded a $522,000 grant to restore St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church, announced as part of eight historic restoration projects totaling $2,052,650 by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in October 2026. The grant comes through the Virginia Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Historic Preservation Grant Program.

Why it matters

The funding supports preservation of a historic church tied to Virginia's Black and Indigenous communities and People of Color, a category the state fund was created to protect. It also reflects state investment in sites associated with these communities.

The Norfolk grant accounts for roughly one-quarter of the $2,052,650 total across eight projects, with seven rehabilitation and stabilization projects and one archaeological data recovery project. The source does not specify the restoration timeline.

The players

St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church

A historic congregation in downtown Norfolk whose building is the subject of the restoration grant.

Virginia Department of Historic Resources

The state agency that administers historic preservation programs and announced the grant awards in October 2026.

The details

The grant will fund a building envelope restoration of St. John's AME Church, located in downtown Norfolk. It is one of eight projects the Department of Historic Resources and the Virginia Board of Historic Resources announced in October 2026 under the state's BIPOC historic preservation program.

- April 2022: The Virginia General Assembly established the Virginia BIPOC Historic Preservation Fund.
- October 2026: The Department of Historic Resources and the Board of Historic Resources announced the eight restoration projects.

Cultural Preservation Context

The award applies the Virginia BIPOC Historic Preservation Fund, created by the General Assembly in April 2022 under Virginia Code Section 10.1-2202.5, to rehabilitate a historic Black church in Norfolk. It is among the first round of awards shown in the October 2026 announcement of eight projects.

Residents of Norfolk and visitors to downtown can expect the restored church building to remain a preserved landmark once work is complete. The grant also signals that similar state-funded preservation support is available to other sites tied to Virginia's Black and Indigenous communities.

The takeaway

State preservation funding is helping keep historic Black churches like St. John's AME standing for future generations. Readers interested in similar sites can track future grant rounds from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.