Another real estate investor is taking advantage of investing in Opportunity Zones.
Normandy Real Estate Partners — which once owned Boston’s John Hancock Tower — has started raising a $250 million fund for investments in low-income areas, Bloomberg reported. The company is looking to invest in the Northeast.
The provision for Opportunity Zones was part of the tax law overhaul. The areas can be an attractive option for reinvesting capital gains while deferring taxes. If funds buy and hold qualifying assets for at least five years, they can reduce the tax on appreciation or eventually eliminate it, the report said.
Across the country, there are roughly 8,700 Opportunity Zones, ranging from the rural areas of the West and low-income portions of major cities. Firms including Goldman Sachs and RXR Realty have made investments or began fundraising for it. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said the incentives could eventually attract as much as $100 billion in capital, according to Bloomberg.
But the window to take full advantage of the investment is closing soon. The capital gains deferment ends on Dec. 31, 2026. So, investors have until Dec. 31, 2019, if they want to reap the benefits of the entire seven-year tax break.
In New York, Normandy is forging ahead with a $300 million office development in Greenwich Village, and it recently made a blockbuster $900 million purchase of Terminal Stores in Chelsea with partner L&L Holding Co. [Bloomberg] — Meenal Vamburkar