July 31 – Northeast Ohio Economic Development Exchange (NODE) Breakfast & Learn – Aligning Opportunities

Marketing helps but a fancy web site cannot replace a strong site development plan that illustrates an Opportunity Zone is prepared for development. Creating an Opportunity Zone site development plan involves five steps that includes the creation of site plans and infrastructure finance strategies, enacting land use entitlements and tax incentives, advocating for a state and local Opportunity Zone public policy agenda, marketing the Opportunity Zone and seeking professional guidance to operate an Opportunity Zone by seeking investors.

Maybe it is a silly question since the ink on the IRS regulations are not dry nor are the even written in ink but economic development, elected officials and real estate developers are asking the question—is our region already behind in attracting capital for Opportunity Zones? The answer to four questions determines if your region is behind in this critical economic development opportunity.

The Uptown Consortium enlisted Sasaki, a global planning and design firm, to complete the master plan for the Uptown Innovation Corridor in Cincinnati. Bringing a broad, comprehensive vision to the table, the firm is working to articulate a thoughtful implementation framework that balances land use, urban design, placemaking and real estate strategies. The result is an execution roadmap to create a world-class urban district.