Preparing Your Community’s Opportunity Zone Nomination Due June 7th 

April 28 — North Carolina is gearing up for the next round of federal Opportunity Zones (OZ) designations—an incentive designed to encourage long-term private investment in low-income communities. Preliminary data suggests North Carolina may be able to nominate 202 census tracts for federal designation—20 fewer than the current OZ program.

Under Opportunity Zones 2.0, governors will nominate up to 25% of eligible low-income census tracts starting July 1, 2026, with new zones taking effect January 1, 2027 for a 10-year cycle. The N.C. Department of Commerce is leading the state’s nomination process and will incorporate public input.

This topic was a featured discussion at the April Regional Managers Meeting, where Emily Pandich (Director of Policy and Strategic Planning) and Jeff DeBellis (Director of Economic & Policy Analysis) walked through key program changes, milestones, and how communities can prepare for the NC Commerce-led process.

NC Commerce has opened the public comment period to receive Opportunity Zone nominations for eligible census tracks. The public comment form is now available at commerce.nc.gov/oz.

Here’s how your community can prepare:

1. Confirm eligible tracts in your county. Start with Commerce’s planning map of census tracts eligible for nomination and identify candidate tracts in your community (and the surrounding market area that supports them).
2. Align eligible tracts to the state’s guiding principles. As you narrow options, pressure-test each tract against the state’s priorities: job creation & industry development, local revitalization areas, and housing supply (including proximity to jobs/transit and planned infrastructure that supports housing). As part of the nomination process, you’ll be asked to discuss how each tract meets the guiding principles.
3. Bring local plans and investments to the table. Strong nominations are grounded in what’s already underway—adopted plans, priority redevelopment areas, committed infrastructure projects, major employment sites, and/or sites with locally controlled land where development can realistically move. Be ready to showcase the details of what’s planned.
4. Coordinate early with partners. Convene local government, economic development, housing, planning, major employers, anchor institutions, and community organizations to agree on priorities and avoid duplicative or competing submissions.
5. Prepare your submission for the public feedback form. Commerce will use an online public feedback form (open for a limited window) to collect nominations of eligible tracts. Draft your tract narrative now—why it matters locally and how it meets the guiding principles—so you can submit quickly once the form opens.
6. Think countywide—know your likely allotment. Preliminary data suggests North Carolina may nominate 202 tracts statewide. The 93 counties with at least one eligible tract can nominate at least one census tract; the remaining 109 tracts will be distributed across the 85 counties with at least two eligible tracts based on county population. Plan early for how your county will prioritize nominations.

Commerce has published detailed submittal instructions on their website. These include:

• Download the Excel file
• Follow the nomination guidelines you’ll find on our website.
• Provide your input directly in the Excel feedback form
• Submit your input via email by sending the completed Excel file as an attachment to OZ-Feedback@commerce.nc.gov.

Feedback forms will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Feedback will only be accepted by way of the Excel form and will only be valid if submitted to via the OZ-Feedback@commerce.nc.gov email account.

Key dates at a glance

• Now: Review the planning map; gather local data, plans, and partner input.
• April 29 – June 7, 2026: Window to submit nominations.
• July 1, 2026: Governor nomination window opens (about 90 days; Treasury may extend).
• January 1, 2027: New Opportunity Zones take effect for 10 years.