Portion of Coosa County included in zones
Special to the News
Last Friday Gov. Kay Ivey announced that Alabama’s Opportunity Zones 2.0 nominations have been approved by the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service.
The Opportunity Zones Program encourages long-term private investment in economically distressed communities through tax incentives. The 141 newly approved Opportunity Zones in Alabama include 65 rural and 76 non-rural census tracts in 66 counties. The new designations go into effect on January 1, 2027.
A portion of Coosa County is included in the state’s Opportunity Zones, specifically the northeastern section of the county that includes the towns of Goodwater and Kellyton.
“This updated version of the Opportunity Zones Program will provide greater possibility for private investment within 141 census tracts in Alabama,” said Gov. Ivey. “My administration has worked to promote and build economic growth in our great state, and this program is another tool available to continue that growth well into the future.”
The original Opportunity Zones Program was established by Congress as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term, private-sector investments in eligible urban and rural communities nationwide.
Version 2.0 made the program permanent through President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act in 2025. The state’s new Opportunity Zones will retain this designation for 10 years.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs submitted the state’s nominations in September after a process to gather local recommendations for Opportunity Zones in Alabama’s counties. The submissions were then evaluated and sent to the U.S. Treasury Department for approval.
“ADECA appreciates the trust that Gov. Ivey has placed in our agency to help guide the nomination process for this program, and we will continue to support her efforts to grow Alabama’s economy in these areas,” said ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell.
The updated framework of the Opportunity Zones program is intended to improve transparency, accountability and overall community impact by directing investment more strategically toward high-need areas, expanding opportunities for rural and underserved communities, encouraging investment in operating businesses in addition to real estate development and strengthening reporting requirements related to job creation, economic growth and community development outcomes.
An interactive national map from the U.S. Treasury Department that includes Alabama’s newly designated Opportunity Zones is available online at https://amis.cdfifund.gov/s/cims-public?c__program=Opportunity%20Zones.
