FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 24, 2018

Contact: Kevin Saucedo-Broach, 571-336-2147, DelALopez@house.virginia.gov

Governor Northam nominates five Opportunity Zones in 49th district 

RICHMOND, Va. – Last week, Governor Northam announced the nomination of 212 Opportunity Zones to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Five of the zones are located fully or in part within Virginia’s 49th House of Delegates district—three in Fairfax County and two in Arlington County.

The nominations come as a result of the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which included provisions for a revitalization tool—the Opportunity Zone and Opportunity Fund. The zones and funds will allow investors to receive tax benefits on currently unrealized capital gains by investing those gains in qualified low-income census tracts or “Opportunity Zones.”

“I’m pleased that the Governor recognized the significant need for investment in our community and I applaud him for nominating these Opportunity Zones in my district,” said Delegate Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington), who represents the 49th district. “The nominations span several of the most underprivileged neighborhoods in our community, areas that need more focus and could stand to benefit from better economic attention on the local, state, and federal level.”

The U.S. Treasury Department has 30 days to respond to Governor Northam’s nominations and is expected to accept and approve them as nominated, establishing Virginia’s Opportunity Zones by late spring of this year. 

Four of the nominated Opportunity Zones—the tracts in the Douglas Park and Nauck neighborhoods of Arlington County and the tracts in the Willston Center and Bailey’s North/Glen Forest neighborhoods of Fairfax County—are located completely within the 49th district. The Skyline Plaza tract in Fairfax County is shared with the 38th district.

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