Opportunity Zones 2.0: Helping our Region Prioritize with the Data

Opportunity Zones (OZs) are a federal tax incentive designed to encourage private investment in economically distressed communities. The first iteration of the program was created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017 to allow investors to defer and reduce capital gains taxes by reinvesting those gains into Qualified Opportunity Funds that deploy capital in designated low-income census tracts. The first Opportunity Zones were designated in April 2018, ultimately encompassing 8,764 tracts across the 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories.

In July of 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed into law, permanently extending and restructuring the Opportunity Zone program. Under the OBBBA, the program is now a permanent feature of the tax code, with governors proposing new designations every 10 years and the Treasury Secretary certifying them. The first new OZ designations under this framework can be nominated during a 90-day period starting July 1, 2026. In Pennsylvania, counties are required to submit their designation priorities by June 5th, 2026.

As counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania finalize their review and prioritization process for new designations, the Hub has built a resource that may make those decisions easier and better grounded in data. With help from the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) and the Tri-COG Land Bank, we have created an interactive Opportunity Zone map for our region. The map shows every potential OZ-eligible tract and layers it with eligibility for other place-based incentives — most notably the federal New Markets Tax Credit — alongside a measure of economic potential that identifies what we call "Seedling Communities." At a high level, Seedling Communities are places that show both real economic need and real momentum. These are places where the underlying conditions suggest investment is most likely to take hold, and that Opportunity Zones could spur investment. This metric was developed by our colleagues at RIDC; more about the methodology can be found here.

Check out our SWPA Opportunity Zone Prioritization Map below or click here

Combined with the incentive-eligibility layers, the map sorts tracts into clear categories, which gives your team a defensible, data-informed starting point for deciding which tracts merit High, Medium, or Low priority for future designations.

What's on the Map

Seedling Communities: The “Seedling Community” designation was developed by RIDC to identify Pennsylvania municipalities that exhibit both economic distress and latent growth potential. Their analysis produces two composite scores for each municipality, enabling stakeholders to distinguish between communities that are simply distressed and those that show signs of capacity for future improvement.

New Market Tax Credit: The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program, administered by the U.S. Treasury's CDFI Fund, encourages private investment in low-income communities by providing investors a 39% federal tax credit over seven years (5% annually for three years, 6% for the final four). This gap financing supports projects like manufacturing, healthcare, and schools. (Tax Policy Center) NMTCs work well with OZs, though utilization of them is complex and best suitable for larger scale projects.

Rural: Under the reauthorization framework, rural tracts receive the enhanced 30% basis step-up, creating a meaningful incentive to designate rural tracts. However, investment in deeply rural areas remains unlikely in practice. The step-up alone may not be enough to attract capital to tracts with limited development infrastructure.

Need Help Understanding the Data or Map?

The Hub would be happy to connect with your team to walk through the map and how it applies to your county or community's specific tracts. Please schedule a call with our Vice President of Economic Development to get the conversation started!

What Happens Next?

This prioritization request is only the first step. Once designations are finalized, the real work of  attracting investment to the tracts your county puts forward begins. The Hub intends to stay engaged well beyond this exercise. After designations are announced we can assist with marketing your county's Opportunity Zone projects to funds and investors.