HUD SECRETARY BEN CARSON TOURS OPPORTUNITY ZONE PROJECT IN CLEVELAND

CLEVELAND, OH - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson today toured an Opportunity Zone redevelopment project in Cleveland. Funded with Qualified Opportunity Funds and additional Opportunity Zone investments, The Tappan is a mixed-use, mixed-income apartment building with a 2,000-square foot bakery occupied by a first-time business owner.

The 95-unit apartment building has set aside 60 percent of units as workforce housing. The redevelopment has created 100 construction jobs and will create up to 25 new permanent jobs. The Tappan was featured in the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council’s Best Practices Report to the President.

“Opportunity Zones are a powerful initiative to support the forgotten men and women of America by uplifting distressed communities,” said Secretary Ben Carson. “Today, I visited The Tappan in Cleveland, which has led the way with an impressive Opportunity Zone project, not long after the incentive was created. I appreciate their commitment to providing workforce housing so teachers, nurses, police officers and firefighters can afford to live near the communities they serve.”

Background:

The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) last month delivered a Progress Report on President Trump’s Opportunity Zones initiative to White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Chairman Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The CEA estimates that Opportunity Zones have already generated approximately half a million jobs, attracted $75 billion in capital investments, and are on track to reduce the poverty rate in Opportunity Zones by 11 percent - lifting 1,000,000 people out of poverty.

President Trump signed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, creating Opportunity Zones to stimulate long-term investments in low-income communities. Opportunity Zones offer capital gains tax relief to those who invest in these distressed areas. This initiative is anticipated to spur $100 billion in private capital investment in Opportunity Zones. Incentivizing investment in low-income communities fosters economic revitalization, job creation, and promotes sustainable economic growth across the nation, especially in communities HUD serves. Read more about Opportunity Zones.

Opportunity Zones are a powerful vehicle for bringing economic growth and job creation to the American communities that need it the most. On average, the median family income in an Opportunity Zone is 37 percent below its respective state median. Overall, more than 8,700 communities in all 50 States, Washington D.C., and five U.S. territories have been designated as Opportunity Zones. Nearly 35 million Americans live in communities designated as Opportunity Zones.