About Opportunity Zones

The Opportunity Zone program was established by the U.S. Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law in December, 2017. It was designed to encourage long-term investments in low-income communities across the United States by providing significant tax incentives to investors who reinvest their capital gains from stock, real estate or other assets into these zones.

Additional qualifications may apply for each of these terms, but to get started, it’s good to know the following key terms:

  • Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) – Low-income community selected by the Governors of every U.S. state and territory and certified by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
  • Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) – A corporation or partnership that is used as a vehicle to invest capital gains in an QOZ.
  • Qualified Opportunity Zone Property – Includes stock, partnership interests and business property that is substantially located within a QOZ.
  • Qualified Opportunity Zone Business – A business in which substantially all of its owned or leased tangible property is located within a QOZ.

Individuals or entities who reinvest their capital gains into a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund may receive:

  • Temporary Deferral. Defer taxes on their original capital gains until December 31, 2026.
  • Step-Up In Basis. If the Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) holds the investment for 5 years, they receive a 10% reduction on their original capital gains taxes. If the QOF holds the investment for another 2 years, they receive an additional 5% reduction on their original capital gains taxes. These capital gains taxes must be paid by December 31, 2026.
  • Permanent Exclusion. If the QOF holds the investment for 10 or more years, they pay zero federal capital gains taxes on any appreciation of the investment.

Investors must roll capital gains into a Qualified Opportunity Fund which then can make investments in the Qualified Opportunity Zone. Generally, investors have 180 days from the sale of an asset to roll their capital gains into a Qualified Opportunity Fund

A QOF can invest in almost any type of business, including commercial and industrial real estate, housing, or infrastructure, as well as in existing or start-up businesses.

Visit the IRS Opportunity Zone FAQ for more information

About the OppZone Portal

The OppZone Portal is a tool to help the City of Las Vegas identify and track Opportunity Zone projects and investments in the community. This project is supported by the City of Las Vegas Economic and Urban Development Department.

  • Anyone can submit projects to the Portal, including
    • Real estate (commercial, industrial, residential, or land)
    • Venture capital (new or existing businesses)
  • Once a project is loaded, administrators approve projects to be shown on the Portal if a project meets basic information standards
  • Approved projects are then listed live on the community’s portal; detailed project information and contact information is available to registered users (registration is free)
  • Project proponents and local governments update projects over time
  • Local governments generate standard and custom reports to understand which Opportunity Zones are attracting interest and investment
  • Community socioeconomic information is tracked and reported over time in order to understand community outcomes from Opportunity Zone investments

More Strategies

The City of Las Vegas’ Economic and Urban Development Department (EUD) is an accredited member of the International Economic Development Council and runs the City’s redevelopment agency, encourages new development and redevelopment, offers a range of incentive programs to encourage growth, and creates connections between innovative companies in Las Vegas. Among the projects the City is focused on are within special districts, including Symphony Park, Cashman Center, the Las Vegas Medical District and Enterprise park. Click below to learn more about each of these unique districts, or visit the EUD website.

Located on 61 acres in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, Symphony Park is the city of Las Vegas’ premier development that is home to arts, culture, science and medicine. It offers one of the city’s most exciting and prime opportunities for retail, restaurant or mixed-use development.

Existing Businesses

Symphony Park retail and restaurants are key amenities that will service the development’s primary anchors, including:

  • The Smith Center for the Performing Arts (Sambalatte coffee shop now open)
  • DISCOVERY Children’s Museum,
  • Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health
  • Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce
Upcoming Development
More than 600 future residential units are currently under development:
  • Aspen Heights – multifamily project with ground floor retail
  • Southern Land Company – multifamily project with ground floor retail
Neighboring Businesses

Neighboring businesses, including those from Molasky Corporate Center, Las Vegas Premium Outlets North and future World Market Center Convention Center will also benefit from future retail and restaurants.

Symphony Park Location

Symphony Park is within the Las Vegas Redevelopment Area in the heart of downtown Las Vegas. The area’s second largest employment center, downtown Las Vegas boasts a major hospitality district comprised of nearly a dozen hotel/casinos with landmark museums and attractions such as the Fremont Street Experience, that combined, employ thousands and draw more than 24 million annual tourists to the area. Symphony Park is centrally located with easy access to U.S. 95 and Interstate 15.

Ground-Floor Retail Opportunities

Given the desirability of Symphony Park, recent development activity has been strong. Two projects currently in development include a luxury apartment complex with 300 multifamily residential units and ground-floor retail; and a second multifamily residential project includes 299 units with 4,000-square-feet of retail.

In addition, there are nearly 1,000 new residential units in a variety of price points currently under development in the downtown area to meet the growing demand for urban living. An additional 4,000 units are in the planning stages.

Urban Grocery Store/Retail Offering
  • Flagship grocery/retail opportunity with storefronts on Grand Central Parkway and Clark Avenue
  • Ground-level of 700+ spaces, city-owned and operated parking garage (700+ parking spaces)
  • Space turnover estimated Q4 2019
  • Tenant improvement allowance negotiable
Restaurant Offerings
  • Signature restaurant opportunities surrounded by iconic anchors
  • Outdoor patio seating available
  • Space turnover estimated Q4 2019
  • Tenant improvement allowance negotiable
Resources
  • Retail Opportunities
  • Retail Map
  • Available Land Parcels
  • Aerial Map
  • Site Plan Map
  • Financial Data
  • Tourism Improvement District

The city of Las Vegas owns approximately 50 acres near the place where nostalgic cool meets modern innovation, also known as downtown Las Vegas. Close to hip amenities enjoyed by millions of downtown visitors each year, Cashman Center is a multi-use facility, home to the Las Vegas Lights Football Club of the United Soccer League.

Named after one of the city’s founding families, this unique space has a long history of providing business and family entertainment opportunities, hosting scores of sports events and conventions. In fact, Cashman boasts remarkable flexibility in its ability to host a variety of events.

Currently, the convention and meetings space is being reconfigured. However, the multi-use facility encompasses 483,000-square-feet and includes the following active spaces :

  • 10,000-seat baseball and soccer stadium
  • 98,100-square-feet of exhibit space
  • 1,922 seat state-of-the-art theatre
  • 14 meeting rooms
  • 2,400 parking spaces (nearby in the downtown core there are more than 40,000 additional spaces available)
Easy Access

The Cashman site is close to Interstate 15 and U.S. 95. A total of seven freeway interchanges will provide access to the site: four exist now, one will be in place in 2019 and two more are planned.

Future Infrastructure
  • Las Vegas Boulevard improvements are on the horizon
  • Future mass transit hub is planned for the site
Innovation District

Cashman Center is located within the Innovation District, which is a center for testing groundbreaking technologies created by the city of Las Vegas to encourage and attract tech companies of all kinds. A demonstration site it currently located within the Fremont East Entertainment District (FEED) and it allows testing of new technologies.

Additional Information

The Las Vegas Medical District is a collaborative effort between the city of Las Vegas and the downtown Las Vegas medical and health care community. The LVMD creates an environment that supports future and continued development of businesses and real property within the district. The goal is to further the availability of services complementary to current medical providers, build on the sense of community and enhance the quality of health care for all southern Nevada.

What is the Las Vegas Medical District?

The Las Vegas City Council established the Las Vegas Medical DistrictTM (LVMD) in 1997. LVMD is centrally located near downtown Las Vegas, encompassing approximately 674 acres. Within this district are several anchor partners: Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Clinical Simulation Center of Las Vegas, Desert Radiologists, Nevada System of Higher Education, Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging, UMC, University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) School of Dental Medicine and Valley Hospital Medical Center. The new UNLV School of Medicine is the cornerstone of the LVMD with development of the entire area guided by a comprehensive master plan that brings together medical services and providers in a way that Southern Nevada has not yet experienced.

What is the purpose of the Medical District?

The Las Vegas Medical District is a collaborative effort between the city of Las Vegas and the downtown Las Vegas medical and health care community. The LVMD creates an environment that supports future and continued development of businesses and real property within the district. The goal is to further the availability of services complimentary to current medical providers, build on the sense of community and enhance the quality of health care for all Southern Nevada.

Is the LVMD going to expand?

Valley Hospital and UMC are considering expansion and renovation programs. Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging has made its move to the newest location in the medical district, adding state-of-the-art equipment and services. Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is also discussing expansion.

What key and strategic institutions which will complement the area are being discussed?

The following medical institutions are in discussions: the UNLV School of Nursing and research programs. In addition to health institutions, student and employee housing, recreation and fitness options, a library, more medical office buildings, a hotel with conference center, a community center, day care/pre-school, more dining options are all being discussed to fully support the needs of the community.

The Las Vegas Enterprise Park is a 75 acre mixed-use business park developed by the city of Las Vegas. Located on the southwest corner of Lake Mead and Martin Luther King boulevards, the park is zoned for mixed-use development under the city’s zoning standards. This standard provides an environment for the development of modern administrative facilities, research institutions and specialized manufacturing operations. The essence of the business park is to provide for an aesthetically attractive working environment with well-landscaped grounds, attractive buildings, ample employee parking and other amenities appropriate for development. The city of Las Vegas developed the Las Vegas Enterprise Park to offer many attractive features for civic, light-manufacturing/assembly, medical office and commercial retail businesses.

Historic West Las Vegas
Enterprise Park is located in the historic west side of Las Vegas. This area began as a settlement in 1904. It was an important supply point when the railroad completed its connection to Las Vegas in 1905. It also served as a transportation center for goods and supplies from which freight was transported. The first business district in the Las Vegas valley was established here including the first bank, blacksmiths, wholesale houses, a drug and general store along with several restaurants. The area includes the famed Moulin Rouge Hotel & Casino site, which hosted legendary African American entertainers such as Sammy Davis Jr. Ella Fitzgerald, Nat “King” Cole, Lena Horne and Eartha Kitt at a time of segregation in Las Vegas. Because of the rich and diverse history abounding in this historic community, the stage is set for Enterprise Park to create a model for new commercial development in the area

Contact Us

Have questions, comments or suggestions? Email the OppZone Portal team here (support@OppZonePortal.com). OppZone Portal is a service provided by the team at Applied Analysis, an economic, fiscal and public policy consulting firm.