Economic Development
Downtown Bessemer receives Opportunity Zone designation
There is “opportunity” in Bessemer! The city’s downtown district, which includes the federally-recognized Downtown Historic District, has been designated as an Opportunity Zone by the United States Department of Treasury. Bessemer’s Opportunity Zone designation was approved through Treasury as a new initiative in the Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017. The Internal Revenue Service defines an Opportunity Zone as “an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.” Localities qualify as Opportunity Zones if they have been nominated for that designation by the state and that nomination has been certified by the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury via his delegation of authority to the Internal Revenue Service, according to the IRS. Bessemer’s Opportunity Zone includes all of the downtown Bessemer district, as well as portions of the Jonesboro and Westlake communities. To see the map of Bessemer’s Opportunity Zone, see the map below or view via a link provided by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (see Census Tract 102). Stay tuned for future updates on efforts to bring out the “Opportunity” in Bessemer’s Opportunity Zone. 
