Rep. Aguilar Joins City to Announce Opportunity Zone Designations in San Bernardino
Rep. Pete Aguilar announced that 27 census tracts in the city of San Bernardino have been designated as Opportunity Zones by the US Department of the Treasury. The designations come after Rep. Aguilar sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown asking him to nominate specific census tracts in San Bernardino to encourage new private investment to reinvigorate the City’s economy and create new job opportunities for residents.
“San Bernardino has always been a resilient community and I believe that when provided with the proper resources, the city can continue to grow and revitalize its economy,” said Rep. Aguilar. He continued, “I’m hopeful that these Opportunity Zone designations will go a long way toward supporting small businesses and creating good-paying jobs here in our region.”
The area for the City of San Bernardino Opportunity Zone designation is Highland Avenue to the north, Mill Street to the south, H Street to the west, and Tippecanoe Avenue to the east.
“Implementing an Opportunity Zone in the City of San Bernardino is another key step in the City’s renaissance,” said Mayor R. Carey Davis. “Incentivizing businesses to continue to invest and open their doors here is critical in the transformation of the Downtown region, which includes the Carousel Mall redevelopment and 5th Street Gateway Project. Opportunity Zones will expand the economic revitalization of the City, which already includes the successful redevelopment of the former Norton Airport that now hosts more than 11,500 jobs for Fortune 100 and 500 companies. We thank Congressman Aguilar for championing change in San Bernardino.”
The Opportunity Zone program is designed to spur new investment in communities like San Bernardino where businesses have traditionally struggled to succeed. The Opportunity Zone program attracts investors by allowing them to delay taxes owed on profits they make after selling properties or assets. Instead of taxing investors after they make a profit, the Opportunity Zone program allows them to reinvest their profits in local communities. A total of 30 Opportunity Zones were designated in the 31st Congressional District, including one tract in Upland, one in Grand Terrace and one in Redlands. A map of the new Opportunity Zones in the 31st District is available here.
