Opportunity Zones Podcast

Opportunity Zones may just be the perfect vehicle to deliver economic relief to the areas hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. How can the incentive be expanded to further catalyze the recovery effort? Blake Christian is a tax CPA for Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt (HCVT), a regional accounting firm with offices across the western United States.  Transcript and show notes at OpportunityDb.com

What is the state of Opportunity Zones from the perspective of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, now one year into its mission? Scott Turner is executive director of the Council -- a collaboration of 17 Federal agencies and Federal-State partnerships with a mandate to identify and disseminate best practices for utilizing the Opportunity Zones tax incentive and existing Federa...

Last year, the Opportunity Zone Expo hosted six live, in-person events. But due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, their 2020 conference will be entirely online. Learn how you can still benefit from attending, who you will meet, and how you can save 20 percent on last-minute tickets. Rich Zhang is brand manager for the Opportunity Zone Expo. Transcript and show notes at OpportunityDb.com

On June 4, the IRS issued a new notice that provides a lot of additional coronavirus relief for Opportunity Zone investors and Opportunity Zone funds. Will this relief pose short-term challenges for Opportunity Zone capital raising? And might it cause a tsunami wave of investment toward the end of this year? Transcript and show notes at OpportunityDb.com

During this current economic crisis that has resulted from our response to COVID-19, how can Opportunity Zone funds serve as alternatives for 1031 exchange investors? Erik Hayden is founder of Urban Catalyst, a San Jose-based real estate Opportunity Zone fund focused on ground-up development. Transcript and show notes at OpportunityDb.com

What Opportunity Zone fundraising trends can be gleaned after raising $465 million? And what's next for Opportunity Zones in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic? Nick Parrish is managing director and head of business development at Cresset Partners, a multifamily office that specializes in alternative investments in real estate, private capital, and Opportunity Zones. Their first QOZ fund closed...

In April, the IRS published correcting amendments to the final regulations on Qualified Opportunity Funds. What are the key changes that Opportunity Zone participants need to be aware of? Jessica Millett is partner and chair of Duval & Stachenfeld's tax practice group. Ashley Tison is co-founder at OZ Pros. Transcript and show notes at OpportunityDb.com

The Sacramento Kings ownership group successfully spearheaded downtown Sacramento's revitalization, which by the end of 2018 had resulted in a hugely positive community impact and a downtown job increase of 38 percent. Now can they leverage the Opportunity Zone incentive to replicate this success in similar markets across the country? Alex Bhathal and his family are principal co-owners of the Sacr...

Are you ready to attract investors for your Opportunity Zone deals? Learn how to form an Opportunity Zone fund and raise capital for your OZ deals. Receive valuable information on legal structuring, compiling a pitchbook, and crafting the perfect pitch email. This episode is a condensed version of the audio portion of the webinar, which includes the presentations by Jimmy Atkinson & Ashley Tison (...

Why is social impact crucial to the long-term success of the Opportunity Zone initiative? Hear from the top urban Opportunity Zone fund, as awarded by the Forbes OZ 20, and the positive story of the impact that they are delivering in South Central Los Angeles. Martin Muoto is founder and managing partner of SoLa Impact, a $115 million Opportunity Zone real estate impact investment fund located in...

How has the Opportunity Zone marketplace matured over the past 12 months? What has the investor response been? And is the current pandemic-instigated economic downturn threatening to change everything? Jill Homan is founder and president of Javelin 19 Investments, a Washington DC-based commercial real estate investor, developer, and Opportunity Zones advisor. Transcript and show notes on Opportuni...

What insights can be gleaned from the newest book on Opportunity Zone investing? Jim White, PhD is chairman and CEO of Post Harvest Technologies and founder of the PHT Opportunity Fund. He is also a best-selling author; his latest book is Opportunity Investing: How To Revitalize Urban And Rural Communities With Opportunity Funds. Transcript and show notes on OpportunityDb.com

How are Opportunity Zone funds responding to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic? Find out why one Opportunity Zone fund walked away from $500 million worth of real estate deals last month. And could the current economic climate present some unique opportunities for investors? Chris Loeffler is co-founder and CEO of Caliber, a private equity real estate investment firm whose Opportunity Zone fund has...

How can investors, financial institutions, and other local stakeholders leverage the Opportunity Zone incentive to improve community development results? Jeanne Bonds is a professor of the Practice of Impact Investment and Sustainable Finance at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill. She was formerly director of community economic development for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond....

Congress has passed three phases of coronavirus relief packages, with a fourth potentially on the way soon. How can Opportunity Zone businesses seek relief? And how can Opportunity Zones assist with economic recovery? OZ Pros hosted a Zoom meeting with 80 of the most engaged Opportunity Zones participants in our network. The Zoom meeting included presentations from Ashley Tison (OZ Pros), Howard M...

What is an OZ fund on Colorado's western slope doing to spark catalytic impact and serve the long-term needs of rural communities? Chris Montgomery is partner at Four Points Funding, whose Opportunity Zone fund was recently awarded the Grand Prize as the Forbes OZ 20's Top Rural Opportunity Zone Fund Catalyst by Forbes and the Sorenson Impact Foundation. Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb....

How will the ongoing coronavirus pandemic affect financial markets and Opportunity Zones? Craig Bernstein is principal of OPZ Capital, which launched the OPZ Capital Opportunity Zone Fund in 2018. Craig has over 20 years of real estate experience, and is a prominent thought leader in the Opportunity Zones industry. Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

What is the capital raising and investment portfolio strategy for the first Opportunity Zone Fund to deploy capital to business ventures? Len Mills is CEO of Verte OZ, a venture capital Opportunity Zone fund launched in September 2019 that invests in high-growth disruptive businesses. Natalie Elder is Verte's head of investor relations. Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

What are the biggest Opportunity Zone lessons we've discovered and Qualified Opportunity Fund best practices we've formed after our first 100 Opportunity Strategy Calls at OZ Pros? And how can they apply to you? Opportunity Zones Podcast host Jimmy Atkinson and OZ Consultants CEO Ashley Tison are co-founders of OZ Pros -- Qualified Opportunity Fund and Qualified Opportunity Zone Business entity fo...

What Opportunity Zones regulatory issues does the Novogradac Working Group address in their recent comment letter to the IRS? And what can you expect at the upcoming Novogradac OZ conference? John Sciarretti is a partner at Novogradac, a top 50 accounting firm and national thought leader in the Opportunity Zone industry. Show notes and transcript at OpportunityDb.com

What level of transparency does your Opportunity Zone fund provide? Is it verified by a third-party fund custodian? Jeremy Christensen is director of fund custody at Millennium Trust Company. Show notes and transcript at OpportunityDb.com

How can real estate technology, or property technology, benefit Opportunity Zone marketplace participants? Steve Nson is founder of AnySizeDeals, a matchmaking platform for real estate investors that also organizes live events. Their upcoming AnySizeDeals Week event will focus on how real estate interacts with AI and robotics, innovation, Opportunity Zones, and blockchain. Transcript and show note...

What are students learning in the nation's first LLM-level tax course on Opportunity Zones? Joseph "Jay" Darby is a partner in Sullivan & Worcester's tax group in Boston and has been a member of the adjunct faculty at Boston University School of Law since 2003. This semester, he is teaching an LLM course at BU Law titled, "No Gain No Pain? Opportunity Zones, Like Kind Exchanges and QSBS Strategies...

How does impact investing pioneer Jim Sorenson invest for impact in Opportunity Zones? Can Catalyst Opportunity Funds serve as both a counterexample to the wave of negative OZ publicity and a model for OZ fund investing? Impact investing pioneer Jim Sorenson and tech entrepreneur Patrick McKenna are co-founders of Catalyst. Jim is also founder of the Sorenson Impact Foundation, and funding partner...

Why might indoor vertical farming be ideally suited for Opportunity Zones? Zale Tabakman is founder and president of Baltimore-based Local Grown Salads, an indoor vertical farming company that has its own Opportunity Zone fund. Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com