OZ – Opportunity Zones – Insights From the Land of OZ

February 19, 2022September 8, 2026 by Duane Morris

From the Land of OZ: Equity Investments into QOFs Up Sharply in the last 6 months of 2021!

According to reporting this week from Novogradac, Qualified Opportunity Fund (“QOFs”) investments were sharply up in final six Months of 2021. While this is not overly shocking given the expiration of the 10% reduction benefit under the OZ Act on 12-31-21, the amount of deal flow and capital investment continues into 2022 at a fast and furious pace (and we are not talking cars here).

Per the report, Qualified Opportunity Funds raised a eye-popping $6.88 Billion in equity in the final six months of 2021, the largest quarterly amount raised in any period since the inception of the OZ program in 2018.

As of 12-31-21, total OZ equity from these QOF funds increased to approximately $24.4 Billion. Note, this equity is often leveraged with debt in order to build or buy projects which likely results in total project costs of these investments being at least $100 Billion.

Novogradac collects data from Qualified Opportunity Funds that voluntarily provide information to them on an ongoing basis. One of the features of the OZ Act that we often hear criticism of is the lack of required reporting on key performance indicators like funds flow, job creation, total project cost, etc. As such, while the volume of investment from Qualified Opportunity Funds that have been tracked is impressive, the totals do not represent the total market share of investments given the voluntary nature of the disclosure.

We are often asked, where is all the investment going on?

Per the report, the states with the most OZ investment to date have been California ($2.4 Billion); Arizona ($1.35 Billion); Texas ($1.12 Billion), New York ($1.05 Billion) and Florida ($784 Million). Moreover, there are 20 cities that have at least $200 million in planned or on-going Qualified Opportunity Fund investments, including Washington, DC ($740 Million); Los Angeles, CA ($679 Million); New York, NY ($642 Million); Nashville, TN ($521 Million), and Austin, TX ($455 Million) as the top five cities for OZ investments.

If you would like to review a copy of the report – a link is attached : https://www.novoco.com/notes-from-novogradac/novogradac-report-qof-investment-sharply-final-six-months-2021-20-cities-have-200-million-or-more

Duane Morris has an active Tax Credits and Opportunity Zone Team to help organizations and individuals plan, respond to, and invest in Opportunity Zones and low income areas throughout the USA, including the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico using tax credit equity and standard equity. We have closed over 173 OZ deals since their inception and are actively working on over 34 OZ projects for owner/developers, investors and business owners at the moment. We would be happy to discussion your proposed project with you.

Contact your Duane Morris attorney for more information. Prior Alerts on the topic are available on the team’s webpage.

If you have any questions about this post, please contact Art Momjian, Scott Gluck, Lee Potter, Anastasios Kastrinakis, or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.

December 4, 2020September 8, 2026 by Duane Morris

PSEG invests in a 25% interest of Ocean Wind – the $1.7B Wind Project off the NJ Coast

Public Service Enterprise Group announced earlier today, Friday, December 4, 2020, that it will invest in a 25% share of Ocean Wind, the $1.7 billion, 1,100-megawatt wind energy project off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Ocean Wind is owned by Ørsted North America, and is anticipated to provide 500,000 households with energy when operational.

It’s the first of three tranches of 7,500 megawatts in offshore wind the Murphy administration is aiming to have in the state’s energy capacity by 2050.

The operation and maintenance of the Ocean Wind facility is expected to create over 65 full-time jobs during the 25-year lifecycle of the project, according to Gabriel Martinez, a spokesperson for Ørsted.

In June, according to NJBIZ, Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled a 200-acre “wind port” in Salem County on the Delaware Bay, where the wind turbines will be produced and shipped out across the Jersey Shore.

The facility will be located in Lower Alloway Creek Township, adjacent to PSEG’s Hope Creek Nuclear Generation Station – at a facility PSEG already owns. The site is within a mile of a designated federal Opportunity Zone and could spur some additional development within the nearby zone.

Duane Morris has an active Opportunity Zone Team to help CDCs and other organizations and individuals plan, respond to, and invest in Opportunity Zones and low income areas throughout the USA, including the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. We have closed over 45 OZ deals since their inception and are actively working on over 54 OZ projects for owner/developers, investors and business owners. We would be happy to discussion your proposed project with you. Contact your Duane Morris attorney for more information. Prior Alerts on the topic are available on the team’s webpage.

If you have any questions about this post, please contact Scott Gluck, Lee Potter, Keli Isaacson Whitlock, AK Kastrinakis, Art Momjian or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.

September 11, 2020September 8, 2026 by Duane Morris

Bill to require the SBA to train Field Representatives regarding Opportunity Zones and OZ Benefits introduced in the House

Reps. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., and William Timmons, R-S.C., introduced the Increasing Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2020 (H.R. 8120).

According to Novogradac, the Bill would require the Small Business Administration (SBA) to train representatives on the opportunity zones (OZ) incentive. Trained field representatives would serve as a point of contact for OZ questions and resources, educate elected leaders within their areas and hold an annual seminar in each state to educate managers of qualified opportunity funds, qualified opportunity zone businesses, state and local government officials and other interested persons on how to benefit from OZ investments.

The director of each SBA regional office would be required to submit an annual report on the success of trained field representatives, including any problems and best practices.

Continued positive steps by the House and the White House on directing various federal agencies to prioritize resource allocations and program dollars to help low income areas in various OZs throughout the US, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Duane Morris has an active Opportunity Zone Team to help organizations and individuals plan, respond to, and invest in Opportunity Zones throughout the USA, including the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. We have closed over 45 OZ deals since their inception and are actively working on over 54 OZ projects for owner/developers, investors and business owners. We would be happy to discussion your proposed project with you. Contact your Duane Morris attorney for more information. Prior Alerts on the topic are available on the team’s webpage.

If you have any questions about this post, please contact Scott Gluck, Lee Potter, Keli Isaacson Whitlock, AK Kastrinakis, Art Momjian or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.

Be well and stay safe.

August 26, 2020September 8, 2026 by Duane Morris

Federal GSA prioritizes Opportunity Zones for Owned and Leased Assets – Wow!

On Tuesday, August 25, 2020, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) announced that it will increase its investment in opportunity zones with owned and leased federal buildings, following an executive order that President Donald Trump signed Monday.

The order directed the GSA to prioritize opportunity zones and other distressed communities in federal agency moves to help bring new economic activity to the neighborhoods and to save taxpayer money by occupying more affordable real estate.

“We are excited to now officially include qualified Opportunity Zones in the list of priorities we formally assess when selecting sites,” GSA Administrator Emily Murphy said in a release. “Yesterday’s Executive Order is consistent with GSA’s long term role in spurring economic development within the communities where our buildings are located.”

The GSA owns or leases 376.9 Million Square feet in 9,600 buildings in over 2,200 communities. As the GSA is the largest owner and user of space in the US by far, this is a very significant development in OZ world.

The opportunity zone program was passed into law in 2018 as a way to incentivize investors to place their equity investments into underserved communities. According to BisNow, beyond using the government’s real estate footprint, the Trump administration has sought to support the opportunity zone program through other methods. The Department of Education last week launched a grant program to help institutions of higher education recover from the coronavirus crisis, and it gives priority to applicants who expand educational access to students in opportunity zones.

Duane Morris has an active Opportunity Zone Team to help organizations and individuals plan, respond to, and invest in Opportunity Zones throughout the USA, including the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. We have closed over 45 OZ deals since their inception and are actively working on over 54 OZ projects for owner/developers, investors and business owners. We would be happy to discuss your proposed project. Contact your Duane Morris attorney for more information. Prior Alerts on the topic are available on the team’s webpage.

If you have any questions about this post, please contact Scott Gluck, Lee Potter, AK Kastrinakis, Art Momjian or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.

Be well and stay safe.