FloridaCommerce Launches Opportunity Zone 2.0 Tour

FL Commerce News 2026

Published February 26th, 2026

Detected February 27th, 2026

Summary

FloridaCommerce has launched the Opportunity Zone 2.0 Tour to encourage communities to submit recommendations for the next designation cycle. The initiative aims to help rural and low-income communities attract private investment and economic growth.

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What changed

FloridaCommerce has initiated the Opportunity Zone 2.0 (OZ 2.0) Tour, a statewide outreach program designed to guide communities in preparing for the upcoming Opportunity Zone designation cycle. The program encourages local leaders, economic development professionals, and community partners to submit recommendations for consideration, with the goal of positioning rural and low-income areas to attract private investment and foster economic growth.

Communities are invited to submit their recommendations through April 2026, with FloridaCommerce preparing final recommendations for the Governor's consideration by July 1, 2026. This initiative builds upon the existing Opportunity Zone program, which was established to incentivize reinvestment in distressed areas. While the document mentions the program's creation in 2017 and refinements in 2025, it does not specify any new compliance deadlines or penalties for regulated entities, as it is primarily an informational and recommendation-gathering process.

What to do next

Review the Opportunity Zone 2.0 program details and submission requirements.
Submit community recommendations for Opportunity Zone designation by April 2026.

Source document (simplified)

FloridaCommerce Press 2026

Home > News Center > FloridaCommerce Press Releases > FloridaCommerce Press 2026

FloridaCommerce Launches Opportunity Zone 2.0 Tour to Encourage Communities to Submit Recommendations

Feb 26, 2026 ~ Communities across Florida are encouraged to submit their OZ 2.0 recommendations for consideration at www.floridajobs.org/OpportunityZones ** —creating an opportunity for rural and low-income communities to position themselves for long-term private investment and economic growth ~

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Today, FloridaCommere announced the launch of the Opportunity Zone 2.0 (OZ 2.0) Tour, a statewide outreach initiative designed to help communities prepare for the next Opportunity Zone designation cycle. Communities across Florida are encouraged to submit their opportunity zone recommendations for consideration at www.floridajobs.org/OpportunityZones. The OZ 2.0 tour gives rural and low-income communities the information they need to position themselves for long-term private investment and economic growth through the program by attracting and recruiting new investment capital that may have otherwise been unattainable.

“The Opportunity Zone 2.0 tour provides a platform for input from local leaders, economic development professionals, workforce education partners and other community partners—giving Florida communities the chance to better position themselves to receive the resources they need to bolster their critical infrastructure, attract job creators and support job seekers,” said Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly. “Florida’s rural and low-income communities have specific personal goals to set them up for economic success and this opportunity gives them the chance to get those goals across the last mile.”

FloridaCommerce began meeting with groups across the state in November 2025 to brief them on the opportunity to submit their opportunity zone recommendations for nomination and will continue seeking public input through April 2026. Thereafter, FloridaCommerce will prepare recommendations for the Governor’s consideration, prior to July 1, 2026. To see the list of upcoming tour locations, visit www.floridajobs.org/OpportunityZones.

Created by the Tax Credit and Jobs Act of 2017 (OZ 1.0), the Opportunity Zone program was designed to encourage investors, businesses, developers and financial institutions to reinvest capital gains into rural and low-income areas—injecting funds into places that need the economic boost most. The One Big Beautiful Bill of 2025 made the program a permanent part of the tax code and further refined the program, OZ 2.0. While this program offers investors tax incentives through the deferral, reduction and potential elimination of taxes on capital gains, rural communities will see a triple tax benefit of 30%—giving them the opportunity to fill funding gaps and propel large projects like workforce housing, industrial and commercial development, and overall business and job formation across the finish line.

New OZ 2.0 opportunity zones will be nominated by Governors across the United States starting July 1, 2026, and qualified by the U.S. Treasury by December 31, 2026—taking effect on January 1, 2027. Zones will be nominated and designated every 10 years. Pursuant to the One Big Beautiful Bill, more restrictive eligibility criteria will be applied to qualify new census tracts, including a lower median family income threshold of less than 70% and the elimination of contiguous tracts.

To learn more, including view the list of Opportunity Zone outreach to date and preliminary maps that estimate potential opportunity zone eligible census tracts, and ultimately to submit a census tract for potential Opportunity Zone nomination, visit www.floridajobs.org/OpportunityZones.