The Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation (GBEDF) has developed a website to promote opportunity zones in Northwest Louisiana.
The site, www.InvestNWLA.com, provides detailed information on the area’s qualified opportunity zones, including a regional overview with information on transportation and infrastructure assets unique to the area and critical to economic development. Northwest Louisiana features seven qualified opportunity zones between the two neighboring parishes of Caddo and Bossier.
The Opportunity Zone program was established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to spur long-term private sector investments in low-income urban and rural communities. The program offers federal capital gains tax benefits to investors who re-invest their capital gains into Qualified Opportunity Funds.
Through this interactive resource, the user can explore the parishes in the region as they relate to each of the qualified opportunity zones and determine specific demographic information within each census tract in order to assist in their decision-making. The site also provides information on how to navigate the Opportunity Fund investment process.
Statewide, there are 150 census tracts that are qualified opportunity zones. These low-income tracts were nominated by Gov. John Bel Edwards and certified by the Secretary of the Treasury. Louisiana’s 150 tract recommendations were determined based on a strategic review of feedback from local, state and federal elected officials; economic and community development organizations; private developers; private equity firms; non-profit organizations; churches; and individuals.
The www.InvestNWLA.com initiative is led by the GBEDF in partnership with the Coordinating and Development Corporation (CDC) and the Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments (NLCOG) who serve as the federal and regional planning agencies for the area. Partnering with these like-minded organizations will provide streamlined services for interested investors and developers looking to participate in the Opportunity Zone program.