Elissa Hansen | (218) 481-7737 | ehansen@northspan.org
The opportunity zone federal tax incentive has now been in place for two years, and as investors and developers have now worked out many of its nuts and bolts, interest in unlocking these dollars remains strong. The Minnesota Opportunity Collaborative, a program powered by Northspan, continues to support these efforts and has streamlined its offerings for greater ease of use. Changes include:
Updated Filters: The MNOppCo Directory now filters by type and project size and has 56 projects currently listed statewide. Users can sort listings by whether they are real estate development projects, operating business projects, or available sites located within zones, and by the dollar amount of the total project. This change is in direct response to the criteria investors use when they seek out projects for investment.
Continued Partnership with The Opportunity Exchange: MNOppCo is pleased to announce a continuation of its partnership with The Opportunity Exchange (TOE), which hosts MNOppCo’s project directory on a national platform. Like MNOppCo, TOE continues to streamline its product to make listings more searchable, and it has also expanded its reach to numerous other markets. This has resulted in a noticeable uptick in activity through its directory, and Minnesota projects have now generated 23 known inquiries from national investors through TOE.
Project Social Impact: As projects happen in opportunity zones across the country, numerous stakeholders have come together to facilitate community conversations and drive investment toward projects that have local support and significant social benefits. In Duluth, Duluth LISC has been a driving force and worked with Cogent Consulting to create a social impact investment framework. LISC and other local and funding partners are now using this framework as they work on the Esmond Building, a building owned by the Duluth HRA that is currently under a letter of intent for a redevelopment project using opportunity fund dollars. MNOppCo, which has spoken on the importance of social impact in opportunity zone projects across the state and country, applauds these local efforts to guide funds to the most vital community projects.
Ongoing Webinars: MNOppCo continues to host webinars on the third Tuesday of every month from 1:30-3:00. Check out past webinars here, and register for the January webinar here!