Posted October 15, 20186 yr While the 2018 tax law contained many controversial provisions, one that may prove intriguing to urban redevelopment is the Opportunity Zone. Call them OZs, O-Funds, O-Zones or whatever, they have the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the development of Ohio urban cores. To learn more about Opportunity Zones, read this primer from the IRS.... https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/opportunity-zones-frequently-asked-questions More guidance will be coming out soon from the IRS and, when it does, the money will start to flow toward real estate development. How much money? Some estimates suggest it could be $100 billion. https://www.wsj.com/articles/real-estate-developers-rush-to-capitalize-on-tax-incentive-1538229600 Others estimate it could be trillions. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferpryce/2018/08/14/theres-a-6-trillion-opportunity-in-opportunity-zones-heres-what-we-need-to-do-to-make-good-on-it/#55b96aca6ffc For Ohio's largest metro areas, on an admittedly oversimplified per-capita basis, each could see anywhere from $600 million to tens of billions of dollars in investment from O-Funds into O-Zones over the next 8 years. Where are Ohio's O-Zones? They are based on Census tracts. Here is a map... https://development.ohio.gov/bs/bs_censustracts.htm Ohio's largest cities either have their downtown Central Business District (CBD) tracts or near-downtown tracts included. Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo and Youngstown have the CBDs included. Cincinnati and Columbus have the tracts surrounding their CBDs included. Many low-income neighborhoods are included in these and other cities. Large swaths of rural Census tracts are Opportunity Zones too, especially in Southeast Ohio. One debate that remains strong regarding OZs is, how will communities ensure that there is inclusiveness and racial equity in these investments? Will these investments really go to the areas that need them most, or will they merely fund high-rise luxury apartment towers in Cleveland and gentrified townhouses in Cincinnati or Columbus neighborhoods next to their downtowns? Or will they provide the necessary gap financing for affordable, quality housing in Portsmouth or Toledo, and job-rich assembly plants, distribution centers, etc. in Lima, Youngstown or Zanesville? A recent discussion about these issues has been occurring in Cleveland, led by the Brookings Institute. Considering the city's stark differences between the booming growth of downtown, University Circle, Ohio City, and Tremont (all of which are OZs) and the incredibly high poverty seen in many east-side neighborhoods (East Cleveland isn't in an OZ and neither is most of Hough), many rightfully wonder where the money will flow. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/09/19/opportunity-zones-and-shared-prosperity-emerging-principles-from-cleveland/ It's going to be an interesting study for policymakers, urbanists, sociologists, realtors, journalists and others over the next eight years to see where the money goes and for what purposes. But this race is about to begin. Edited October 15, 20186 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 15, 20186 yr Author BTW, many investors are wondering WHEN they can start investing in Qualified Opportunity Funds offered by many investment houses, including some local ones. That's a good question. Could literally be any day now.... Investors, developers at the ready as Opportunity Zone guidance nears https://rew-online.com/investors-developers-at-the-ready-as-opportunity-zone-guidance-nears/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 15, 20186 yr I think many of ours in the Cleveland area are well placed for where it makes sense to see new development and redevelopment. While Cincinnati and Columbus include inner neighborhoods and brownfields, they also look to have huge swaths of exurbs and greenfields - not the case around Cleveland. The argument can certainly be made against Cleveland including the near west side and downtown, but I'd much rather see this money be invested in core neighborhoods than places like Oakwood or Grafton.
October 16, 20186 yr The Cleveland development community is very adept with tax credits and such, so I expect to see them make good use of this program.
October 16, 20186 yr Author I'd like to help set up a Qualified Opportunity Fund that invests exclusively in Transit Oriented Development projects. Anyone know a good tax attorney who specializes in capital gains? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 16, 20186 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 19, 20186 yr Author New ‘opportunity zone’ rules offer developers tax breaks U.S. Treasury to release guidelines designed to spur projects in low-income areas, officials say Published: Oct 19, 2018 9:46 a.m. ET The Trump administration on Friday will propose guidelines that will help investors use a new tax incentive that encourages development in low-income areas. The Treasury Department designed the rules for the Opportunity Zone program to give businesses enough flexibility and certainty to start making major investments, said senior department officials who described the proposal in advance of its release. The program, with bipartisan roots, was a small piece of last year’s tax law and has been attracting intense attention from real-estate developers and fund managers who have been soliciting investors and anxiously awaiting the rules. MORE: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-opportunity-zone-rules-offer-developers-tax-breaks-2018-10-19 AND Opportunity Zones One Step Away From Receiving Official Guidance Investors Are Desperately Seeking October 18, 2018 Matthew Rothstein, Bisnow East Coast The last step on the road to a full understanding of the Qualified Opportunity Zones created by the Trump administration's new tax law last December has finally been taken. The Office of Management and Budget has sent the rules governing investment in opportunity zones to the IRS, which will review them ahead of their release to the public, Bloomberg reports. This development likely means the full release will take place either in November or December, Cole Schotz Associate Phil Hirschfeld said. MORE: https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/capital-markets/opportunity-zones-guidelines-nearly-ready-everyone-waiting-94080 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 19, 20186 yr Author More... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 19, 20186 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 19, 20186 yr Author From the Bloomberg article above -- Considering the high price of land for downtown Cleveland's parking craters, could this provision be a huge boon to developing them? Is it limited to refurbishing/renovations? It doesn't include new construction? The IRS rules specify that funds don’t have to include the value of the land when calculating how much the law requires them to spend renovating or refurbishing property. For example, if a fund were to pay $1 million for a warehouse and land, with the building valued at $400,000, the fund has to spend at least what the building is valued -- not the total purchase price -- in renovations. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 20, 20186 yr Areas of interest/potential/ongoing development in the Cincinnati Opportunity Zones: -FC Cincinnati stadium and surroundings -the Banks -lot south of Convention Center being eyed for new hotel -Skyhouse Cincinnati site -US Bank Arena -Casino & big triangle lot -downtown south of Fifth Street (includes PNC aka Central Trust Tower recently proposed for renovation, Carew Tower, Western and Southern land) -Queensgate -MLK interchange area/“innovation corridor” -most of Over the Rhine. Left out are some portions north of McMicken and also west of Ravine that could use some help -bizarrely the historic part of the West End is left out despite its high poverty rate Edited October 20, 20186 yr by thebillshark www.cincinnatiideas.com
October 20, 20186 yr Author ICYMI... Edited October 22, 20186 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 22, 20186 yr Author More... From the Greater Cleveland Partnership's Monday news briefings (source contains embedded links): https://www.gcpartnership.com/Stay Informed on News and Policy/Newsroom/Every Monday Enews/2018/October/Every Monday 10 22 Opportunity Zones Update The United States Department of Treasury released guidance and a related revenue ruling for the Opportunity Zones program late last week. Public comment on the proposed guidance will be accepted for 60 days from the date it is placed in the Federal Registrar. Opportunity Zones were included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The goal of the program is to allow investors to defer capital gains from the sale or exchange of property by investing the proceeds in an Opportunity Fund. The fund would invest these assets in a qualifying census tract that has, among other criteria, a poverty rate of at least twenty percent. The proposed guidance clarifies, among many things, the amount of capital gains that qualify for a deferral as well as issues surrounding tangible business property located in an Opportunity Zone. This spring, GCP played a leading role with civic and government leaders to development and submit a recommended list of Opportunity Zones for Greater Cleveland. GCP intends to work with key partners, including Cleveland Development Advisors, to submit comment on the proposed guidance. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 23, 20186 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 23, 20186 yr Author On 10/19/2018 at 6:36 PM, KJP said: From the Bloomberg article above -- Considering the high price of land for downtown Cleveland's parking craters, could this provision be a huge boon to developing them? Is it limited to refurbishing/renovations? It doesn't include new construction? The IRS rules specify that funds don’t have to include the value of the land when calculating how much the law requires them to spend renovating or refurbishing property. For example, if a fund were to pay $1 million for a warehouse and land, with the building valued at $400,000, the fund has to spend at least what the building is valued -- not the total purchase price -- in renovations. My reading of the proposed guidance is that the Bloomberg article took the meaning of "substantial improvements" literally -- that a building had to be improved/renovated. But a substantial improvement, as described in the guidance, could also mean constructing a building on vacant land or underutilized land. So in the IRS definitions, a parking lot could be considered vacant/underutilized land and that a building placed on it would most definitely constitute a "substantial improvement." So yes, my read is that this program could be a big benefit to developing the parking craters in downtown Cleveland. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 24, 20186 yr Author The headline says this article belongs here, but the content could put this article into about 5 threads.... Building on Cleveland’s Health District with Opportunity Zones https://urbanland.uli.org/economy-markets-trends/building-on-clevelands-health-district-with-opportunity-zones/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 14, 20186 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 4, 20186 yr Author One Week Left to Register for the Middle Market Forum – Opportunity Zones: Redefining Cleveland Join the Greater Cleveland Partnership on December 11, 2018 from 7:30 - 9:30 a.m at the Middle Market Forum for an in-depth discussion on Opportunity Zones. http://gcpartnership.com/Find an Event/Upcoming Events/2018/December/Fourth Quarter Middle Market Forum Opportunity Zones - Redefining Cleveland?_cldee=a2VucHJlbmRlcmdhc3RAYWxsYWJvYXJkb2hpby5vcmc%3d&recipientid=contact-7c3d6301ae18e81180df0050568b3461-e3c6dfc137794f5abf395682e1c330b0&esid=cd60fa83-0df7-e811-80e2-0050568b3461 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 6, 20186 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 11, 20186 yr Author Cuyahoga County Won Dozens Of Opportunity Zones. Now What? http://www.ideastream.org/news/cuyahoga-county-won-dozens-of-opportunity-zones-now-what "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 14, 20186 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 8, 20196 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 17, 20196 yr I attended a meeting today with Gus Frangos of the county landbank where opportunity zones came up. He said they are very excited for them. There has been alot of interest in large properties in the landbank - particularly large apartment buildings and old industrial properties - where before there was zero interest (hence the landbanks involvement). Now there area alot of people interested in investing in them thanks solely to the opportunity zone benefits.
January 18, 20196 yr Author That's awesome to hear. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 30, 20196 yr Author Growth opportunity Opportunity Zones are designed to help revive struggling neighborhoods in cities like Cleveland and Akron https://www.crainscleveland.com/finance/growth-opportunity "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 5, 20196 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 15, 20196 yr Author Gov. Mike DeWine announces tax credit incentive for investment in ‘opportunity zones’ https://www.cleveland.com//akron/2019/03/gov-mike-dewine-announces-tax-credit-incentive-for-investment-in-opportunity-zones.html And New Opportunity Zone Ranking Shows Some Tertiary Markets Have Investment Potential “It’s true there is a critical mass of development capital and expertise to serve the biggest metro areas, but there are also very capable people across America and creative developers in places like Buffalo, Youngstown, [Ohio,] Cleveland, Boise and Omaha,” Cisneros said. “It’s in the country’s best interest to make sure a program like this reaches across the nation.” Read more at: https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/capital-markets/new-opportunity-zone-tool-touts-secondary-markets-cre-playbook-says-otherwise-97986 Edited March 15, 20196 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 21, 20196 yr Author Cross-posted in the random Cleveland developments thread... ‘The floodgates are about to open’: Cuyahoga County, Cleveland leaders unveil opportunity-zone plan https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/03/the-floodgates-are-about-to-open-cuyahoga-county-cleveland-leaders-unveil-opportunity-zone-plan.html Edited March 21, 20196 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 21, 20196 yr 15 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said: And who thought the 2017 tax act was a bad deal for cities. Just sayin... Opportunity Zones were not the main reason for the tax act though. It was an afterthought.
March 21, 20196 yr Author It had been floating around Congress as a separate measure for a long time. Like a lot of good bills that weren't going anywhere, it was attached to a host bill that had a good chance of passage. We will see if it is a pro-urban program or just another incentive for the wealthy that relegates the poor and working class to, at best, an afterthought. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 21, 20196 yr Author Download the prospectus to see a comprehensive list of current and proposed projects in Cleveland-area O-Zones... https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fgIXhIUIOdJubf2ZsrwxCPkOVxA1q6wO Edited March 21, 20196 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 21, 20196 yr WOW. Check out the downtown section- all of the projects we've talked about are listed there, including the Parking Lot District site.
March 21, 20196 yr Author Lots of urban eye candy in that report. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 21, 20196 yr 4 hours ago, freefourur said: Opportunity Zones were not the main reason for the tax act though. It was an afterthought. It was not an afterthought. That’s unfair to the work that people put in to make that happen. I bet you Tim Scott (R-SC) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) didn’t think it was an afterthought when they worked hard to write this and get it done. Opinions about the tax act as a whole aside, don’t cheapen the effort it took to get opportunity zones passed
March 21, 20196 yr 2 hours ago, inlovewithCLE said: It was not an afterthought. That’s unfair to the work that people put in to make that happen. I bet you Tim Scott (R-SC) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) didn’t think it was an afterthought when they worked hard to write this and get it done. Opinions about the tax act as a whole aside, don’t cheapen the effort it took to get opportunity zones passed I think he means it was an afterthought to the Trump admin, not to the folks who crafted it. Trump didn't create the tax act to get OZ's through, but he let them be put in to appease members of Congress that wanted them. Edited March 21, 20196 yr by DEPACincy
March 21, 20196 yr won't somebody please invest in Painesville? ? http://www.mainstreetpainesville.org/
March 21, 20196 yr @eastvillagedon I always thought the city of Painesville has some absolutely perfect bones for a walkable, exurban community - which is rare. I think with the right vision it could look something more like Medina than Lorain
March 21, 20196 yr 15 minutes ago, YABO713 said: @eastvillagedon I always thought the city of Painesville has some absolutely perfect bones for a walkable, exurban community - which is rare. I think with the right vision it could look something more like Medina than Lorain I agree, and if it wasn't for the fact that they demolished so much of the historic downtown in an abysmal urban renewal scheme forty years ago it may not have had the problems it does today. But it's interesting that you mentioned Medina. I looked at the map of opportunity zones and a large chunk of Medina is there. I don't know if that includes its downtown, but I always thought it was a fairly affluent, growing city all along. Maybe someone can explain this for me. Edited March 21, 20196 yr by eastvillagedon http://www.mainstreetpainesville.org/
March 21, 20196 yr 10 minutes ago, eastvillagedon said: I agree, and if it wasn't for the fact that they demolished so much of the historic downtown in an abysmal urban renewal scheme forty years ago it may not have had the problems it does today. But it's interesting that you mentioned Medina. I looked at the map of opportunity zones and a large chunk of Medina is there. I don't know if that includes its downtown, but I always thought it was a fairly affluent, growing city all along. Maybe someone can explain this for me. It all comes down to the Golden Rule, Don... He who has the gold, makes the rules
March 29, 20196 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 6, 20196 yr The Planning Commission's agenda included 2 "enterprise zone" TIF items at the 4/5/19 meeting, the Harvard Avenue one being probably more significant in terms of scope and jobs. Is this the same as Opportunity Zone projects? Too many similar sounding names? EDIT: Nevermind, found my answer. E Zones are a state program; O Zones a federal one. Remember: It's the Year of the Snake
April 7, 20196 yr The more info and regs that come out on the O-zone program, they really are catering to a very limited group of investors and businesses. The Amazon's of the world or businesses that can come in and make a transformative change to an area are who it is designed for. The typical investor or someone who wants to throw down 4-5 million on a project is not a good fit for this.
April 7, 20196 yr ^ Well, part of the problem is they are still being written. But, the kicker is that essentially, if you buy a property, you need to improve it for about as much as you buy it for (I could be off a little on this but regardless, it requires a significant improvement) and a significant amount of the assets have to be located on site right now (Hence no trucking companies, etc). It really would not work well for say an apartment developer to come into say East Cleveland and renovate an apartment building because the capital contribution required to renovate it likely would not justify the value created in the building for that area. Many startups would have trouble taking advantage of this because they do not have enough hard assets to generate a return on. Basically, the ideal opportunity to take advantage of something like this is going to come from an Amazon type company who is going to invest and essentially take over a neighborhood, or a group like a 3CDC (if they were not non-profit) that can invest in an emerging neighborhood on a large scale to create gentrification. Also, a light manufacturing company who is asset heavy could benefit from some of this. Now I am not an expert at this by any means, but even the experts will admit that this is pretty much uncharted territory and nobody knows for sure how the program will actually work until the IRS actually challenges someone on it. Pretty much, someone needs to be the guinea pig in all this.
April 9, 20196 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 11, 20196 yr Author Opportunity Zones knocking, but few investors answering the call so far https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/opportunity-zones-knocking-few-investors-answering-call-so-far "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 11, 20196 yr ^ partially because the rules are still being written and nobody wants to take the first leap without certainty.
April 17, 20196 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
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