Opportunity Zone Challenge Program - NJEDA

OPPORTUNITY ZONE CHALLENGE PROGRAM

Designed as new community investment tool to be delivered through Federal tax policy, Opportunity Zones were created to encourage long-term investments in distressed urban and rural communities nationwide. The Opportunity Zones provide an incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains into dedicated Opportunity Funds.  Fund capital must be invested in Opportunity Zone businesses or real estate projects for a fixed time period in order to access the full tax benefit. Following a detailed and community-focused selection process, 169 Census tracts in 75 communities across all 21 New Jersey counties were approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 2018.

Opportunity Zone designations have, by their design, a great potential to focus the flow of capital and economic investment into communities that have historically faced economic challenges. This long-term scarcity of investment, combined with the pressing needs and strained capacities of local governments, has often led to diminished local abilities to develop and capitalize beneficial projects. With the advent of Opportunity Zones and the potential for historically high flows of previously unavailable capital, this lack of capacity to harness investment could lead many communities to lose out on real estate and business equity investments with the potential to create catalytic change. 

The goal of this grant program is to encourage communities to build economic development capacity by developing community-specific plans that will frame their pursuit of Opportunity Zones-based investments.

The grant is open to the 75 New Jersey municipalities and 21 counties where at least one Opportunity Zone census tract, either in whole or in part, is located within the geographic boundaries.

PROGRAM DETAILS
ELIGIBILITY

ELIGIBILTY

Specific scoring criteria is outlined in the Opportunity Zone Challenge Grant Application – Cover Sheet & Application Instructions, but general guidelines that will be used to assess applications are as follows:  

  • Evidence of the proposal to demonstrate the plan’s ability to achieve one or more capacity building goals of the Opportunity Zone Challenge, as outlined in the Scope of Work.
  • Strength of programming or policy design within the Proposal, regarding the reputation, capacity, and proposed level of commitment from the partnering entity(ies); benefits and practical advantages of the partnership(s).
  • Demonstrated ability within plan to increase municipal, regional and county governments knowledge and capacity to build investment growth.
  • Proposal’s emphasis on meeting Opportunity Zone community investment goals
  • Presence and strength of business equity investment strategy within the proposal.
  • Presence and strength of a defined collaborative stakeholder engagement process and strategy.
  • 2017 Municipal Revitalization Index Rank.  
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