The whole story
Why Callao, and why now
What an Opportunity Zone actually is
Two separate things travel under one name, and they point the same direction.
What changed this year
The map was drawn in 2018 and hasn’t moved since. Now it’s being redrawn for the first time. After this, it’s fixed until 2036.
July 1, 2026
The window opened
September 28, 2026
The Governor's picks are due. This is the deadline.
January 1, 2027
New zones take effect
December 31, 2036
The new zones run out. The next chance to get on the list.
The lines on the map
Callao isn’t an incorporated town. There’s no town line and no town government. So when the federal government counts people, it draws its own lines and numbers them. Those numbered areas are called census tracts, and they’re what the zone program works with.
Ours is tract 201, the orange boundary below. It runs from the Yeocomico down past the Coan, with Callao in the middle. The long number in the fine print, 51133020100, is just its full ID: 51 for Virginia, 133 for Northumberland County, 020100 for tract 201.
The zone would be the whole tract. Not just the crossroads. Everything inside the orange line.
Why Callao qualifies
A place qualifies when family income there runs below 70% of the state figure. Around Callao it runs at about 57%. That’s comfortably inside, and it comes from published federal numbers, not anybody’s opinion.
Family income near Callao, as a share of Virginia’s
qualifies below 70%
57%
The part that actually matters for a small town
An investor used to have to spend at least as much fixing a building as they paid for it before the tax break applied. In a rural zone, that drops to half. On the small buildings we actually have, half is the difference between “no bank will touch it” and “somebody might actually do it.”
Work needed before a $75,000 building qualifies
Old rule
New rural rule
What it does not do
- It does not guarantee a dollar.
- It does not obligate the county to spend or match anything.
- It does not change zoning or any local rule.
- It does not make anybody build anything.
It is a label that improves the odds, and it is free.
Why we’ve never had one
When the map was drawn in 2018, no part of Northumberland County made it. We are not asking for anything our neighbors don’t already have.
Who decides, and where the calls fit
Virginia has far more places that qualify than it has slots, so the state is choosing among places that all pass the test. What separates them is whether anybody back home seems to care. Calls from people who live here are the evidence that the application has a town behind it.
Step 1
The county applies
Done ✓
Step 2
The Governor picks
by September 28. Your call lands here.
Step 3
The U.S. Treasury certifies
the list is set for ten years
Where these numbers come from
- Internal Revenue Code § 1400Z-1: the law itself, as amended
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-14: the nomination rules, dates, and the list of eligible places
- U.S. Treasury rural-area methodology: which places count as rural
- The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act: the grant preference
- Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development: the state’s process
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb: the tract boundary and map
The operative fact is simpler than any of those: Northumberland County has already submitted its application. Anyone can ask the county about it.