“Previous programs didn’t do enough to create significant investment in our distressed neighborhoods,” he said. “While the QOZ program isn’t perfect, it has generated a lot of activity within the zones selected. Hopefully, the next round of tax incentives will improve on the current QOZ program.”
A revised program should follow the termination of the investment period of the current QOZ program, he saaid. “The reintroduction of the program should contain reporting and minimum requirements regarding the percentage of affordable housing units in residential developments and the number of jobs created,” Weissenberg said.
Even hampered by delay in the issuance of guidance, the pandemic’s economic disruption and ongoing supply-chain disruptions, “the QOZ program has resulted in billions of dollars of projects being initiated within these economically distressed areas,” he added. “The program has lived up to its promise.”