Winston Salem council backs five Opportunity Zone tracks for state submission

The Winston Salem City Council voted unanimously May 18 to endorse five census tracts for nomination to North Carolina's Opportunity Zone 2.0 process.

City staff told the council the program, created in 2017 to spur investment by offering federal tax benefits for capital-gains reinvestment, can support commercial and industrial real estate, housing and infrastructure. Staff sought endorsement of tracts depicted on maps 1, 3, 4, 22 and 23 and indicated a potential additional nomination for the tract shown on map 11.

"Maps 3 and 4 are the areas around Smith Reynolds Airport that present opportunities for both residential and industrial development," staff said, and they highlighted Whitaker Park and Choice Neighborhoods-connected tracts as other targets for investment. Staff also said nomination decisions align with state guidance emphasizing business and job creation, strategic local revitalization and pathways to increased housing supply.

Council moved and seconded the staff recommendation and approved it unanimously. Mayor Alan Joins called for the vote after staff described the recommendations and confirmed the Department of Commerce is accepting local recommendations through June 7.

The endorsement sends staff'recommended tracks to the North Carolina Department of Commerce for consideration under the state's Opportunity Zone 2.0 certification process. City officials said they consulted with Greater Winston-Salem Inc. and reviewed the tracts in a recent Committee of the Whole meeting before the council action.

Council members did not record separate public comment on the nominations during the meeting. The next step is submission to the Department of Commerce by the state deadline.

The council adjourned following other agenda business; budget hearings and other public items proceeded later in the evening.