Medium, March 15th, 2019: Opportunity zones, land banks among important topics discussed at NCRC conference
This week members of the Birmingham City Council attended the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s annual conference in Washington D.C.
During the conference, the elected delegation from Birmingham took part in seminars and panel discussions on vital topics for the city, such as how to best utilize Opportunity Zone designations, best land bank practices and meetings with Alabama’s Congressional leaders.
Perhaps one the most important topics, as it relates to Birmingham’s neighborhoods, was how best to utilize the city’s newly designated Opportunity Zones. On March 21, 2018, Governor Kay Ivey released a list of 158 Opportunity Zones in Alabama that her administration submitted to the U.S. Department of Treasury, 24 of which are located in Birmingham.
These zones are designed to draw long-term capital investments into poverty-stricken communities. The program provides a federal tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains into Opportunity Funds, which can be dedicated for investing in designated Opportunity Zones through local legislation.
During the NCRC Conference, City Councilors learned the importance of implementing local legislation in order to make sure those capital gains stay in Birmingham’s communities.
