Invest Acadiana, a joint initiative of Acadiana Planning Commission and One Acadiana, was recognized as a leading Opportunity Zone Community in new national list
The Forbes OZ 20: Top Opportunity Zone Catalysts, a partnership between the Sorenson Impact Center and Forbes, recognized Invest Acadiana among 20 community organizations and OZ Funds that are committed to achieving equitable economic growth in underserved and overlooked communities.
Invest Acadiana is a joint initiative of Acadiana Planning Commission and One Acadiana to promote Opportunity Zone investment throughout the nine-parish region of Acadiana.
“It is an honor to be recognized by Forbes for our work to revitalize distressed communities in opportunity zones throughout Acadiana,” said Troy Wayman, president and CEO of One Acadiana. “We are excited to share this recognition with our community partners and stand united in our shared efforts to bring new jobs, investment, and economic growth to communities across our region.”
APC and 1A partnered with the Community Foundation of Acadiana to create the Acadiana Opportunity Zone Prospectus, an in-depth tool to provide investors and other stakeholders with an overview of Acadiana’s 25 opportunity zone census tracks.
APC and 1A also partnered with Downtown Development Authority, Lafayette Consolidated Government and Lafayette Economic Development Authority in the development of the Lafayette Opportunity Zone Prospectus, a comprehensive document that details the seven qualified census tracts in Lafayette Parish.
Both prospectuses can be found at InvestAcadiana.com.
More than 8,700 opportunity zones were designated as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The designation offers deferments and savings on capital gains when investors deploy funds in opportunity zone projects.
“The Opportunity Zone tax incentive targeting our disinvested areas is the tool Acadiana needed to engage the private sector in the hard work of revitalization,” said Monique Boulet, CEO of the Acadiana Planning Commission. “Invest Acadiana is an evolving partnership and initiative that is changing the way Acadiana approaches reviving our downtowns. Having the town centers throughout the region and our urban core in Lafayette designated OZs has opened the conversations around blighted corridors, abandoned buildings, entrepreneurial investment, community visioning, project packaging, project pitches, asset mapping and community led revitalization. It is the beginning of meaningful change.”
According to Sorenson Impact Center founder Jim Sorenson, 113 applications were submitted through 62 funds and 51 communities.
Invest Acadiana will hold OZ Pitch Fest 2020, a shark-tank-style pitch competition focused on funding projects with the Acadiana Opportunity Zones, April 22 at the Acadiana Center for the Arts.
