Qualified Opportunity Zones were created as a provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the act). They were designed to encourage investment and real estate development in distressed communities, by offering significant income tax savings and deferrals for investment in such areas.

"If I was a mayor, I would offer compelling tax incentives to retail center owners/developers if they transform their unoccupied retail space into affordable housing—use your unoccupied space to satisfy a social need."

Brookfield Properties will break ground this summer on 5M, a four-acre mixed-use project in downtown, which will provide $76 million in public benefits to the SOMA neighborhood and the city.