(Photo credit: University of Michigan-Flint)
The Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce wants to help developers and real estate investors get in the Zone. The Opportunity Zone, that is.
The Chamber’s Economic Development team has prepared the 24-page Opportunity Zone Prospectus that highlights the county’s 16 zones and some of the shovel-ready land available within each. The booklet also touches on some of the quality-of-life amenities within each of the featured municipalities.
The prospectus will be unveiled at a reception for developers and prospective investors on June 18, from 4-6 p.m., at the Ferris Wheel, 615 Saginaw St. in Flint.
“We’re going to roll-out our prospectus, and it will be an opportunity for developers and investors to meet each other, and to hear from tax experts about the nuts and bolts of how to take advantage of the Opportunity Zone program,” said Tyler Rossmaessler, the Chamber’s director of economic development. “We’ve also invited our municipality partners to talk about the benefits of the various zones in their communities.”
Opportunity Zones are designated census tracts generally comprised of economically distressed communities that qualify for the Opportunity Zone Program. Created by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (2017), the program is designed to spur economic development and job creation in rural and low-income urban communities by using tax incentives to encourage private investment in an impact fund, known as a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF).
“They’re not the traditional census tracts that developers are usually thinking about,” Rossmaessler said. “We want to provide an opportunity for them to think and dream about what is possible with these parcels.”
The law firm Howard & Howard will be present to provide an overview of the investment vehicle, answer questions and provide insights on how to use it. There also will be time available for networking once the formal presentations conclude.
Rossmaessler added that next week’s forum will focus on the local investor community first.
“We thought it was important that people locally who understand the market and who have an interest in growing Flint and Genesee County would be the best folks to target initially with our efforts. But we certainly welcome anyone who wants to invest from outside,” he said.
For more information about the June 18 event or to receive a prospectus, contact Tyler Rossmaessler at .