Six Years of Opportunity Zone Progress and Controversy

Six years ago, Opportunity Zones officially became a reality. The program was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, signed into law by former President Donald Trump in late December 2017. It was hailed as a success—a rare moment of bipartisanship that saw representatives on both sides of the aisle championing the program. Overseen by the Treasury Department, the Opportunity Zone Program went into effect at the start of 2018 and was immediately a hot topic in the commercial real estate industry. But ever since it was created, the program has been plagued with criticism over whether it is working the way it was intended to work: to lift up and revitalize disinvested communities through new development projects. Reforms have been proposed by public officials recently, which could make a big difference if enacted. Still, six years after the program began, what kind of impact has it actually made?