On Thursday, April 19, Gov. Eric J. Holcomb announced the 156 census tract Opportunity Zone nominations Indiana submitted to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Contained within the 2017 tax reform legislation passed last December, Opportunity Zones offer tax incentives to spark investment in low-income communities. Essentially, each state nominates census tracts that meet certain criteria, such as having a poverty rate of at least 20 percent and a median family income of no greater than 80 percent of the area median. (see this link for further details: https://www.enterprisecommunity.org/resources/policy-focus-opportunity-zone-program).
The program only allows states to nominate up to 25 percent of eligible tracts, so the Governor’s Office noted that it worked several state agencies, an external advisory group and took into account thousands of tract recommendations from several hundred local officials, stakeholders and citizens in coming up with the selections.
“This new program provides one more tool to attract investment and help more of our Hoosier communities succeed,” Gov. Holcomb said.
According to the Governor’s office’s announcement, “The 156 nominated census tracts are located in 58 counties covering all or portions of 83 cities and towns throughout the state. Upon approval of the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, these Opportunity Zones will cover over 1,000 square miles and the residences of over 500,000 Hoosiers. The average poverty rate in these census tracts is 31 percent.
The full list of nominated census tracts can be found here.
As this program has great potential to support and generate new community development activities in economically divested areas throughout Indiana, Prosperity Indiana submitted the following feedback during the input process to help inform our state’s approach in determining which tracts to nominate.
On behalf of our members working hard to revitalize and strengthen communities statewide, we are pleased the state has decided to capitalize on this important tool that could have a catalytic impact on low-income neighborhoods throughout Indiana. We recognize it is a significant challenge to identify which census tracts should ultimately receive the designation as our state can only nominate up to 25 percent of eligible tracts. In order to maximize the impact of the opportunity zone investment and its ability to improve lives and boost local economies, we offer the following suggestions for evaluation criteria.
1) Local context and conversations are key. In states that have selected tracts already, selection appears – in some instances – to be based on data only, ignoring local context. For example, some areas meet low-income eligibility thresholds due to student populations; however, investors are already capitalizing companies, commercial developments, or housing projects in those areas, and no incentive is needed. The context, in those cases, was not considered, and the impact of investing there would be to the detriment of communities that truly need the establishment of zones to spark investment. Data, while essential in helping evaluate need, is not a complete picture in and of itself. Conversations, community plans and resident engagement is key to achieving social and economic inclusion, as well as investments that yield long-term economic prosperity.
2) We urge the state to apply the New Market Tax Credit’s definition for “severe economic distress” in selecting zones to drive resources to the areas of highest need. Then, once that criteria is applied, we suggest evaluating additional factors, such as an area’s capacity to capitalize on new investments, taking into account strong anchor institutions and support for small business.
3) We believe designated zones should show a preference for geographic diversity with a balance of rural and urban neighborhoods to diversify investment activity. This will ensure urban cores are thriving, while rural markets that have lost significant jobs and population are also revitalized.
4) We encourage Indiana to take advantage of a tool created by Enterprise Community Partners, called Opportunity360, that allows states to see how eligible tracts relate to other federal programs and designations. Importantly, the tool allows users to filter tracts using the Opportunity360 Outcome Indices to see how people living in these tracts are faring across five outcome dimensions, including housing stability, education, health and wellbeing, economic security, and mobility. The tool can be accessed here: https://www.enterprisecommunity.org/opportunity360/opportunity-zone-eligibility-tool
We appreciate the opportunity to discuss the importance of community engagement, strategic evaluation of needs and opportunities, and geographic diversity to achieve the catalytic community economic development results the program aims to accomplish.
