McKeesport gets guidance on Opportunity Zones

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Joe DeFelice participated in a roundtable discussion Thursday with area government and business leaders and development experts on how Opportunity Zones and federal programs might contribute to McKeesport’s future.

Qualified Opportunity Zones are economically distressed communities where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment, according to the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development. 

DeFelice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio and Pennsylvania State Director Curt Coccodrilli of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development led the discussion about resources and funding that is currently available and could help revitalize the city.

The trio has been traveling throughout Pennsylvania to discuss federal resources available to support Opportunity Zones, which DeFelice said were created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to spur greater private sector investment into economically distressed communities through powerful tax incentives.

They were joined at the McKeesport Palisades by Mayor Michael Cherepko, Councilwoman LuEthel Nesbit, Councilman Jim Barry, several city hall officials, Allegheny County Councilman Bob Macey and around a dozen others. 

DeFelice said governors are permitted to work with local and county governments to designate certain census tracts as Opportunity Zones. Investments made by individuals through special funds in these zones allow for deferment or elimination of federal taxes on capital gains.

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