Louisville Metro Government Launches New Web Tool To Explore Opportunity Zones

In April 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury certified 144 Opportunity Zones in 84 Kentucky counties as recommended by Governor Matt Bevin under a new community development program, the Investing in Opportunity Act, part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. In Louisville, 19 census tracts are designated as Opportunity Zones.

The Opportunity Zones program is designed to spur economic development and create jobs by encouraging long-term investment in economically-distressed urban and rural areas. The program provides a tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains into Opportunity Funds that are dedicated to investing in Opportunity Zones.

“The Opportunity Zones program establishes the framework for investors to inject investment into projects in our city that will have a significant social impact. Projects like the redevelopment of the Louisville Gardens, the Track on Ali at Heritage West, and projects from Butchertown to downtown to west Louisville are great examples of developments that could benefit from this program,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “We look forward to continuing our work with our partners at the state and with local investors to strategically grow our city.”

To assist business owners and investors with identifying Opportunity Zones, the city created an interactive map to show exact addresses and boundaries of Louisville’s designated Opportunity Zones.

To search Louisville-specific addresses, visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/louisville-forward/opportunity-zones-louisville

To learn more about Kentucky Opportunity Zones, visit www.KYOZ.com

To read more about Opportunity Zones in general, visit https://eig.org/opportunityzones