Erie has earned a reputation as a very early adopter, of the federal Opportunity Zones tax incentives, designed to encourage investment in low-income areas across the US that have been neglected for many years. Matthew Wachter, Vice President at the Erie Downtown Development Corporation, told TalkErie.com the program was taylor-made for cities like Erie. That’s why he and community leaders moved quickly to build a framework, to make it easier for investors to look at Erie.
“We were the first in the country to do an investment prospectus. We’ve been some of the first in the country to actually think through how they can be structured, and how investors should take a look at the place. We also have great partners locally, as we’ve tried to pool capital and create capital stacks,” said Wachter.
It’s estimated that $6 trillion in capital gains could be reinvested in opportunity zones nationwide, and easily millions of dollars in capital locally in the Erie region, could be put to work because of the tax benefits.
