CDFA member Frost Brown Todd outlines the six major provisions in the recently introduced Opportunity Zones Transparency, Extension, and Improvement Act. The federal Opportunity Zone tax incentive program has facilitated substantial new investment in designated low-income census tracts across the country. However, due to certain statutory deadlines, some of the tax incentives associated with the program have timed out and the potential benefit of other incentives is currently limited. All that could potentially change because of a recently proposed bipartisan bill that would extend and "revive" the Opportunity Zone tax incentives.

Opportunity Appalachia is providing targeted technical assistance to communities in Central Appalachia. Through the program, a range of technical assistance will be provided to selected projects, including: market assessment, design/architectural, engineering, business plan development, financial structuring, prospectus preparation, and capital raise support. In particular, TA providers will help local projects raise needed financing from Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds, New Markets Tax Credit CDEs, Historic Tax Credits, banks, CDFIs, private investors and public funders. Interested TA providers should respond to the RFQ issued by Opportunity Appalachia.

Farmland can be a compelling asset class for Opportunity Zone investors, as a hedge against inflation and a profitable source of income. But what about orchard farming and other, more specialized agricultural operations? This podcast from OpportunityDb features Josh Guggenheim, the Director of Acquisition at Gold Leaf Farming, a company focused on sustainable farm sourcing and expansion efforts in California and Arizona.

CDFA members Economic Innovation Group and gener8tor recently released a webinar to discuss Opportunity Zones efforts to support the growth of early-stage companies. Topics included capacity building initiatives, investments strategies, and proposed policy changes.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that Greenland Technologies Holding Corporation, a technology developer and manufacturer of electric industrial vehicles, has selected Baltimore County for the next phase of the company's major U.S. expansion. To support its expansion, the company will utilize the state's More Jobs for Marylanders program, administered by CDFAA member Maryland Department of Commerce. The More Jobs for Marylanders program incentivizes new and existing manufacturers to create new jobs in the state, and to non-manufacturers that locate or expand in Maryland Opportunity Zones.

Novogradac's 2021 year-end report on equity raising for OZ investment showed more than $24 billion in cumulative investment. However, Dec. 31, 2021, also marked the expiration of one of the four key OZ tax incentives, the 10% gain exclusion. Of the original four key incentives, two remain: the gain deferral to 2026 and the gain exclusion on appreciation, which raises the question of whether capital raising will continue to be strong for qualified opportunity funds (QOFs). The answer appears to be yes –and data from Novogradac's OZ investment survey for the first quarter of 2022 backs that presumption.

Exploring Equitable Capital Technology (EC-Tech) in Development Finance
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern

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Senators Booker and Scott and Representatives Kind and Kelly, along with Senators Warner, Young, and Van Hollen, and Representatives Sewell, Walorski, and Kildee, propose a series of improvements to the Opportunity Zones policy to further their shared vision for the program to catalyze funding to these communities and level the economic playing field for their residents.

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