Will The Pandemic Increase the Risk of Opportunity Zones?

Opportunity zones were almost immediately popular among investors. The hearty tax benefits and robust economy made the investment model of investing in disenfranchised communities attractive. But will that change now due to the pandemic? The low-income communities that make up opportunity zones—the communities in need of capital investment—could also be more exposed to the negative impacts of the pandemic.

There is no doubt that at the heart of opportunity zones are low-income distressed communities that will see a disproportionate negative impact through community income disparity, which is an issue that government, non-profit and philanthropy is focused on,” Soua Vang, interim economic development director for San Bernardino County, tells GlobeSt.com. “Additionally, the focus on minority communities assists in prioritizing investments into disadvantaged census tracts, which is another way communities’ can leverage OZ to structure their place-based goals to accelerate asset development.”