Kansas communities may apply now for designation as an Opportunity Zone

On Tuesday, Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. announced that the Kansas Department of Commerce is now accepting proposals from communities to designate eligible low-income census tracts as Kansas Opportunity Zones under the new Federal Opportunity Zones program. Opportunity Zones are a new economic development tool enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 designed to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities. Based upon the number of low-income communities identified by the Federal Census, the Governor can designate 70 census tracts in Kansas as Opportunity Zones. Census tract eligibility is based upon population and income. Information about census tract eligibility for this program may be found at http://kansascommerce.gov/opportunityzones. Communities interested in submitting proposals to be considered as a Kansas Opportunity Zone should submit a letter of interest by March 1, 2018.