The nation's economic activity is increasingly concentrated in a tiny fraction of major metropolitan areas. By nearly every measure that matters — job growth, income growth, share of business creation and investment — there are about two dozen metros capturing the lion's share of the wealth.
Read MoreAs mayor of South Bend, he helped the city partner with the nonprofit Accelerator for America to identify "Opportunity Zones" (areas struggling to generate economic growth) that use tax incentives to attract business investment into local communities and help startups get off the ground.
Read MoreFixing the environment is a moral—and financial—imperative. Already, Drexel’s Metro Finance Lab director notes, 2020 is proving transformative.
Read MoreThere is a lot of inherent promise in OZs. The Economic Innovation Group estimates that there are $6.1 trillion worth of unrealized capital gains in the U.S. That equals nearly 30 percent of the national debt.
Read MoreThe US Treasury estimates that at least $1 trillion will be invested in the approximately 8,700 Opportunity Zones over the next 10 years. If true, Opportunity Zones will be the single largest U.S. community development initiative undertaken in the last 30 years.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, the Accelerator and my office partnered to host “Gem City Rising: Economic Resiliency and Renewal.” This is an example of the practical, on-the-ground work the Accelerator does all over the country. The day-long summit brought together local, regional, and national community and economic development practitioners, policymakers, investors, and developers to gain a deeper understanding of Dayton’s incredible potential. This summit highlighted the work that Dayton has done – and will continue to do – to build community wealth in a way that benefits our underserved residents while at the same time presenting a valuable opportunity for investors.
Read MoreIn a new report titled “Towards a New System of Community Wealth,” researchers Ross Baird, Bruce Katz (currently my colleague at Drexel University in Philadelphia, where I hold the yearlong Philadelphia Fellowship), Jihae Lee, and Daniel Palmer lay out a potential solution. They define community wealth as “a broad-based effort to build equity for low-income residents,” which could unlock “hundreds of billions in market and civic capital” to revitalized struggling places across America.
Read More"Put simply, all of the structures are in place to ensure wealthy investors can seize their tax benefits. Lacking are the structures necessary to ensure Opportunity Zones truly create opportunity for those who need it most," Rick Jacobs, CEO of Accelerator for America, a non-profit organization of mayors, labor and business leaders that has advocated for opportunity zone reform, said in a statement last week.
Read MoreAfter years of economic and population decline, the city of Dayton said they’re starting to see a rebound. To showcase recent improvements to the city, Dayton held Gem City Rising in Downtown. Dayton welcomed national, regional, and local real estate investors and developers to showcase their recent and future developments to illustrate the city’s momentum.
Read MoreOn Wednesday, the city of Dayton and Accelerator for America hosted “Gem City Rising: Economic Resiliency and Renewal in Dayton.” The event, at the downtown Dayton Metro Library, featured multiple speakers, panels and presentations about economic conditions, opportunities and financial tools in Dayton and was attended by more than 100 people, including developers, community leaders and entrepreneurs.
Read MoreNational, regional, local real estate investors, developers, economic development professionals and policymakers were all present at the Downtown Dayton Metro Library, for "Gem City Rising". The event highlights and showcases recent and future developments in the city. This is to illustrate Dayton's momentum, with an eye on how the federal Opportunity Zones tax incentive can accelerate investment.
Read More“We get to see Dayton for what Dayton is. We get to see Dayton for what Dayton’s going to be, and we get, in success, both to help attract local investors to think better about what you have here, which is pretty amazing,” said Rick Jacobs, CEO of Accelerator for America.
Read MoreIn December 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a program known as opportunity zones. The purpose is to provide tax incentives, as well as temporary tax deferral on capital gains, when investors reinvest gains in opportunity zone funds. In return, the money is used for investment in qualifying census tract communities, also known as opportunity zones.
Read MoreOpportunity Alabama (OPAL) was created at the same time as the state’s zones, in September of last year. While other states watched activity take off in urban areas, Alabama saw “a big chance” for the entire state. Zone legislation gave Alabama an opportunity to bridge critical gaps in community development financing across the state, which had been underdeveloped for decades.
Read MoreA new federal tax incentive — included in the 2017 federal tax overhaul championed by President Trump — is already benefiting the North Park Row project. The project sits in a federal “opportunity zones,” one of eight in Erie. North Park Row sits in a zone where 45 percent of families have income below the poverty level, according to the most recent census data.
Read MoreA unique collaboration of leading cross-sector groups today announced the launch of a series of regional training programs for public sector professionals regarding how to leverage Opportunity Zone investments to catalyze local economic development.
Read MoreAs we’ve reported, some foundations—most notably Rockefeller and Kresge—are on the case, looking to realize the promise of a flawed law by providing technical assistance to cities with OZs in distressed areas, as well as backing oversight and reporting efforts. But much more needs to be done, and many additional foundations need to see that they have a stake in how the law is applied.
Read MoreThe Accelerator for America organization is less than two years old, but it's already counting a recently announced project in Oklahoma City as one of its victories.
Read MoreFoundations, governments, and crowdfunding platforms show how Opportunity Zones can live up to their promise of making investors money while helping struggling communities across the United States.
Read MoreOver the last two days, the Economic Innovation Group (EIG) joined community leaders, investors, government officials, and national experts in Erie, Pennsylvania, for “Erie Homecoming 2019 – Unlocking Capital in Legacy Cities,” to recognize the city’s success in leveraging Opportunity Zones to spur a renewal of its downtown and pioneer a new framework of economic development. Erie has become a model for the type of institutional innovation and community collaboration that can put Opportunity Zones to transformative use in struggling areas of the country.
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