Three additional Opportunity Zones have been added in Alexandria’s West End to support revitalization, Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) announced Friday (Nov. 6).
The U.S. Department of the Treasury approved all 153 new Opportunity Zones the Spanberger administration requested in Virginia. The zones are intended to promote long-term private investment in low-income urban, suburban and rural census tracts through federal tax benefits such as deferral of previous capital gains, step-up of previously earned capital gains and exclusion of taxable income on new capital gains in Opportunity Zones. The program was created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
In Alexandria, the three new Opportunity Zones are:
- Bordering N. Beauregard Street, Holmes Run, I-395 and Seminary Road in Alexandria West
- Bordering I-395, Holmes Run Parkway and Duke Street west of N. Paxton Street in Landmark
- Bordering I-395, Duke Street, S. Van Dorn Street and Yoakum Parkway in Landmark
The city already has three Opportunity Zones from the first cycle of applications in 2018 — between W. Glebe Road, Four Mile Run and Richmond Highway in Arlandria; between N. Beauregard Street, Holmes Run, city limits and Seminary Road in Alexandria West; and between Duke Street and Holmes Run east of N. Ripley Street in Landmark.
One of the new zones is where the former Landmark Mall is being redeveloped into the WestEnd mixed-use project anchored by an Inova Alexandria Hospital campus.
Localities had submitted their eligible census tracts to the state with details on development activity, zoning, community support, feasibility and investor interest. According to Spanberger’s office, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership reviewed tracts “to evaluate investment potential, incorporate local priorities, and ensure equitable distribution of nominations across regions.”
“I worked closely with local leaders across Virginia to make sure we supported the priorities that mattered most to local communities,” Spanberger said in a release. “I am excited to see all of my recommendations accepted by the federal government, and I look forward to seeing the new investment and economic opportunity this will bring to our Commonwealth.”
The new Opportunity Zones will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
Image via Google Maps
