SitemapPublic and private entities engaged in economic development are eagerly anticipating the new federal Opportunity Zones as a tool to enhance available incentives.
The state of Ohio chose 15 census tracts in the Mahoning Valley and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania chose six in Mercer and Lawrence counties. The program allows taxpayers to defer any tax owed on capital gains by investing the realized gain in the Opportunity Zone, which are in low-income census tracts. Rules are still being completed for the program, approved as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017. “It’s designed to attract equity investment into eligible communities,” says Lauren Johnson, business development manager for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber. The 15 tracks in Mahoning and Trumbull counties are primarily along the Mahoning River, Johnson says. The chamber has received a handful of inquiries from developers interested in projects in those areas. “We’re definitely seeing a lot of interest,” she says. “One of the things we’re working on now is putting together a marketing prospectus that would include information on all of the zones designated in the Valley. And we anticipate rolling that out in May or June.” The Regional Chamber already uses a variety of tools to help companies looking to locate or expand here, says Sarah Boyarko, chief operating officer. These include research on local supply chains and materials, help finding and selecting a site in partnership with Team NEO and JobsOhio and coordinating help offered by local, state and federal government. “The knowledge that we have internally to understand what programs are complementary to a company’s investment, as well as what programs can and can’t be used together, is helpful,” Boyarko says. She makes it a point to mention data collection by the chamber as helping to convince the Ellwood Group to build its $60 million aluminum slab and billet plant in Hubbard Township. To read the full story from The Business Journal, click here.