Raleigh Area Census Tract Opportunity Zones

The definition of Opportunity Zones from the IRS: “Opportunity Zones were created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. These zones are designed to spur economic development and job creation in distressed communities throughout the country and U.S. possessions by providing tax benefits to investors who invest eligible capital into these communities.”

I am sure this definition is exciting to tax attorneys and wealth management advisers.   But to me, I think of Opportunity Zones as equal parts civic leadership and strategic imagination.   Developers need have a vision of what ‘could be’ in their community and invest a considerable amount of their capital — long before any potential tax benefits are reaped.

We are excited that our first Opportunity Zone based deal closed this month: The Distillery at Rand Mill !

According to the developer, Cary based CityPlat,  the tenants will be local wedding planning veteran Chad Biggs with an 8,300-square-foot event hall dubbed The Distillery, Old North Distillery, and a startup led by N.C. State graduates.  This will be an awesome addition to Downtown Garner.

Commercial Real Estate deals are often “processes”, but as one can imagine regarding Opportunity Zone projects, the sale at Rand Mill took a lot of relationship building, thoughtful negotiation, and great patience.  Fortunately,  Sonya Wagner worked the deal and we at Amy Bush Commercial are very proud of her.

Here is a ‘before’ photo and an ‘after’ concept drawing:

Thanks again to Sonya and congratulations to everyone involved in the deal.  We are looking forward to more opportunities like this as well as frequent visits to Downtown Garner.