Opportunity Zones Podcast

The use of pre-manufactured building materials is growing rapidly on real estate development sites. John Wolfington at Exceler Building Solutions joins the show to discuss how his firm has has raised $5 million through an Opportunity Zone Fund, and why he's bullish on the future of pre-manufactured buildings. Show notes & transcript: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/07/john-wolfington-274/

The vast majority of Opportunity Zone projects are ground-up development deals. But in Cleveland, there are numerous opportunities to renovate underutilized historic buildings. Kevin Wojton, managing member at IOTA Development Group, joins the show to discuss how he is acquiring historic buildings in Cleveland's Opportunity Zones for pennies on the dollar, and giving them new life. Show notes & transcript: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/07/kevin-wojton-273/

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PACE financing is becoming a more important part of the capital stack as traditional lenders pull back in today's high interest rate environment. Alexandra Cooley, CIO of Nuveen Green Capital, joins the show to discuss commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing, what it is, who's eligible to receive it, and how the loans can be securitized. Show notes & transcript: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/07/alexandra-cooley-271/

Origin Investments was one of the early adopters of Opportunity Zones in 2018. They have since raised $585 million across their first two Opportunity Zone funds. And now they are gearing up to launch OZ Fund III. Michael Episcope, principal co-founder at Origin investments, joins the show to discuss Origin's story, where investors can find value right now, and whether Opportunity Zones are still good deals, given current macroeconomic conditions. Show notes & transcript: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/06/michael-episcope-270/

Combining safer asset-backed real estate with high-multiple venture investments in untapped markets may be an optimal Opportunity Zone strategy for investors seeking risk diversification. Kelly Ann Winget of Alternative Wealth Partners and Rachel Vass of Syzygy Cities have teamed up to form the EPIC OZ Fund. They join the show to discuss how their fund is unique, and the importance of aligning incentives within public-private partnerships when developing venture real estate. Show notes & transcript: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/06/epic-oz-fund-269/

Capital markets have been volatile as of late. All forms of investment have been impacted, and Opportunity Zones are no exception. Ross Baird, founder of Blueprint Local, joins the show to discuss that impact, plus, some of the biggest lessons that he has learned after investing $200 million of OZ equity over the past four years. Show notes & transcript: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/06/ross-baird-268/

Limited partners (LPs) in private investment funds face many unique challenges when it comes to administration, portfolio management, and cash flow planning. Litan Yahav, founder and CEO of Vyzer, joins the show to discuss these challenges that High Net Worth investors face as LPs in multiple private placement offerings, and how his product can help address their investment management needs. Show notes & transcript: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/06/litan-yahav-267/

Traditional wealth management is very experienced at managing an investor's portfolio of assets at a traditional brokerage account of stocks and bonds. But there's a gap when it comes to portfolio management of real estate properties, and when to utilize 1031s and Opportunity Zones. Drew Reynolds, CIO at Realized, joins the show to discuss how a portfolio of investment properties can be managed with the same level of sophistication as traditional investments. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/06/drew-reynolds-266/

The key to investing success starts with having the right mindset. Steven Pesavento, president of VonFinch Capital, joins the show to discuss how living with "The Investor Mindset" can help High Net Worth investors generate more wealth. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/05/steven-pesavento-265/

The nation’s housing shortage presents an opportunity to convert historic buildings into multifamily. But doing so comes with risk. Cullan Maumus, managing director at NORF Companies, joins the show to discuss how tax credit programs (in addition to Opportunity Zones) can de-risk historic building conversion projects. Show notes: ⁠https://opportunityzones.com/2023/05/cullan-maumus-264/⁠

Ray Mazzie, managing partner at Southern Waters Capital, joins the show to discuss the current market cycle, his outlook on suburban, secondary, and tertiary markets, and the opportunity that they may present in these uncertain economic times. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/05/ray-mazzie-263/

Replay of a live webinar presented by WealthChannel co-founders Jimmy Atkinson and Andy Hagans, wherein we described what hard-earned experience has taught us about investing, and the 3 habits that we have found to be essential for High Net Worth investors. Plus, we give a sneak preview of our upcoming event in Fort Worth, TX -- WealthChannel Summit coming on June 16, 2023. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/05/essential-habits-262/

Opportunity Zone investing is simple, until it's not. While the overall program is simple enough to comprehend, the devil is in the details. Complying with the statutory and regulatory requirements can be overwhelming for many fund managers, real estate operators, and investors. Landon Johnson, chief marketing officer at CapZone Analytics, joins the show to discuss best practices for Opportunity Zone compliance, and his firm's automated solution. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/05/landon-johnson-261/

With the rise of e-commerce and grocery delivery, is there a growing market opportunity for the cold storage real estate sector? Chad BeBolt, managing director and principal at Saxum Real Estate, joins the show to discuss the current state of the cold storage real estate market, and opportunities for investors to consider. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/05/chad-debolt-260/

Can Opportunity Zones help build home ownership opportunities in certain locations around the country? Chris Knoppe, president at CBUS OZ Funds, joins the show to discuss how a combination of renovation and new construction can rebuild neighborhoods and create a path to homeownership. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/05/chris-knoppe-259/

How effective has the Opportunity Zone program been at driving private investment into low income communities? What potential improvements could make the program even more effective? Catherine Lyons, Director of Policy and Coalitions at the Economic Innovation Group, Rachel Reilly, founder at Aces & Archers, and Chris Cooley, CEO of OZworks Group, join the show to discuss how OZs are catalyzing social impact and what the future may hold for the program. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/03/social-impact/

The Opportunity Zone incentive can be a powerful (but underutilized) tax planning tool for certain investors. John Berlet, president of Coastal Bend OZ Fund, joins the show to discuss how he came to learn about Opportunity Zones after selling his business, and why he believes OZs should be used by more investors and advisors for tax planning and retirement planning. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/04/john-berlet-257/

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, coupled with rapidly rising interest rates may be creating a prime opportunity for investors with dry powder to invest in distressed debt in the coming weeks and months. Nathan Whigham, founder and president of EN Capital, joins the show to discuss the overall impact of the banking crisis on capital markets, and why he believes it could be a huge opportunity for some investors. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/04/nathan-whigham-256/

On March 23, 2023, OZ Pros founder Ashley Tison joined OZ Pitch Day for another round of "Ask The OZ Expert." We peppered him with live Q&A from our audience of High Net Worth investors, and he didn't skip a beat. Today's podcast episode is a replay of this segment wherein Ashley covers a wide range of topics, including multiple tax incentive stacking, the impact of the banking crisis on OZs, insurance risks of OZ developers, and much more. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/04/ashley-tison-255/

Investing in ways that align with our personal values is an important aspect of portfolio construction. But the ESG movement may be muddying the waters. Reid Thomas, managing director and chief revenue officer at JTC Americas, joins the show to discuss a new report from JTC and OpportunityDb that offers the results of our 2023 impact investing survey. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/04/reid-thomas-254/

WealthChannel has grown into a large, engaged community of High Net Worth investors, but where did it all begin? WealthChannel co-founders Jimmy Atkinson and Andy Hagans discuss the origins of the WealthChannel media empire (including how it began in a dorm room at the University Notre Dame). Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/04/andy-hagans-253/

Opportunity Zones have been around for about 5 years, but it's still a relatively new tax policy. A lot of investors, fund managers, and even advisors are still getting up to speed on how to operate within the statutory and regulatory requirements. Gordon Goldie and Valerie Grunduski from Plante Moran join the show to discuss 20+ traps that Opportunity Zone investors can fall into without the right guidance. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/04/plante-moran-252/

How are High Net Worth investors using Opportunity Zones to build generational wealth? What opportunities are investors overlooking when it comes to this program? Brad Molotsky at Duane Morris, Gerry Reihsen at Reihsen & Associates, and Kirk Walton at GPWM Funds, participated in a live OZ Pitch Day panel on March 23rd to discuss some best practices to develop wealth with Opportunity Zones. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/03/wealth-development-strategies/

I've been writing about, podcasting about, and hosting live webinars about Opportunity Zones for over four years. I've traveled the country attending and speaking to investors and OZ professionals at countless in-person events. And I've come to a few conclusions about OZ investing over the course of my journey. But two points really stand out. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/03/jimmy-atkinson-250/

Logistics-based industrial real estate has been a strong sector in recent years, with the growth of e-commerce continuing to fuel its rise. Will industrial continue to outperform in 2023? Peter Ciganik, senior managing director at GTIS Partners, joins the show to discuss the bull case for the industrial sector and how Opportunity Zones may be utilized to help accelerate its growth. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/03/peter-ciganik-249/

Inland Private Capital has over $12 billion in assets under management, across over 300 private placements, and they are the nation's largest sponsor of Delaware Statutory Trusts. Keith Lampi, CEO of Inland Private Capital Corporation, joins the show to discuss how Inland helped create the modern-day DST, and how they leveraged their success with that structure to expand into Opportunity Zone offerings. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/02/keith-lampi-248/

Fannie Mae estimates that the nation is facing an affordable housing shortage of close to 4 million units. Can manufactured housing help solve this societal problem? Daniel Landy, executive vice president at UMH Properties, joins the show to discuss the role of manufactured housing in the private equity real estate marketplace and how the Opportunity Zones policy is catalyzing more of this product in some of the areas that need housing the most. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/02/daniel-landy-247/

Opportunity Zone reform legislation introduced in April 2022 failed to pass before the end of last year. But extending and improving the tax policy remains a priority for the industry and key supporters in Congress. John Sciarretti, head of the Novogradac Opportunity Zones Working Group, and Peter Lawrence, director of public policy and government relations at Novogradac, join the show to discuss the status of the "Opportunity Zones Improvement, Transparency, and Extension Act," including when and how it may be re-introduced and eventually passed by Congress. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/02/novogradac-246/

This current point in time may offer a great opportunity for real estate investors, despite (or perhaps partly due to) negative investor and consumer sentiment. Mike Hardy, principal and co-founder at Cyrus Capital Management, joins the show to discuss his macroeconomic view of the residential real estate market, and how his Opportunity Zone fund may be poised to take advantage of a generational opportunity. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/01/mike-hardy-245/

Last year's economic turbulence posed a challenge to investors as well as real estate fund sponsors raising equity. But amidst the economic headwinds, there have been a few success stories. James Brunger, chief sales officer at Capital Square, joins the show to discuss how his team was able to set new records by raising over $1 billion in equity in 2022. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/01/james-brunger-244/

RIAs and other financial advisors remain an elusive, relatively untapped source of equity for Opportunity Zone deals. Barrett Linburg, founder of Savoy Equity Partners, joins the show to discuss the opportunity for OZ developers and fund sponsors to tap into the RIA market, as well as the opportunity for RIAs to bolster their clients' portfolios with Qualified Opportunity Fund holdings. Show notes & transcript: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/01/barrett-linburg-243/

In this segment from OZ Pitch Day Fall 2022, Ashley Tison from OZ Pros takes live questions from Opportunity Zone investors on a wide range of topics. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2022/11/ashley-tison-242/

In many ways, Opportunity Zones have exceeded initial expectations, roughly four-and-a-half years into the place-based tax policy. To kick off the new year, OpportunityDb founder Jimmy Atkinson recaps the current state of the Opportunity Zone marketplace, and what may lie in store for OZs in 2023. Show notes: https://opportunityzones.com/2023/01/2023-opportunity-zones-241/

How do multi-family offices invest in Opportunity Zones? And as we head to year end, where might OZs head in the future? Zane Beadles, vice president at Mercatus Partners, joins the show to discuss how their private real estate investment company works with multi-family office investors to invest in institutional quality Opportunity Zone developments. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/12/zane-beadles-240/

The vast majority of Opportunity Zone developments are urban. But there are also rural areas taking advantage of the Opportunity Zone tax incentive to raise equity for community projects. Jennifer Whitney, founder of River Queen Holdings, joins the show to discuss one such rural Main Street project that she is working to develop in the gateway community of Bishop, CA. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/12/jennifer-whitney-239/

Perennial crop farms and regenerative agriculture in many ways overlaps with Opportunity Zones, creating a positive financial benefit for investors, as well as a positive environmental impact. Kevin Maher, founder of CrannMor Advisors, joins the show to discuss how his group is utilizing Opportunity Zones to raise equity for their regenerative farming operations in upstate New York. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/12/kevin-maher-238/

This year has been a turbulent one for investors. But does economic turmoil and fear in the market create a unique opportunity for investors and fund sponsors? Noah Weiss, managing director and COO at Atlas Real Estate Partners, joins the show to discuss why now may be a perfect time to strike on new deals in high quality Opportunity Zone locations. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/12/noah-weiss-237/

The month of December in 2019, 2020, and 2021 was the strongest equity raising month in each of those years for Opportunity Zone investors. Will 2022 turn out the same? Erik Hayden, founder and CEO of Urban Catalyst, returns to the show to provide a year-end status update on Urban Catalyst and give his thoughts on why December is traditionally the most popular month of the year for investing in Qualified Opportunity Funds. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/12/erik-hayden-236/

The economic recession of this year has had impacts across the broad financial markets, including real estate transactions, impacting Opportunity Zone investors. Brett Siglin, partner at Jennings Strouss, joins the show to discuss the impact of the recession on the Opportunity Zones marketplace, and what he expects for 2023. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/12/brett-siglin-235/

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 restored and enhanced more than two dozen clean energy tax credits. But how can these tax credits be applied to Opportunity Zone projects? Marc Schultz, partner at Snell & Wilmer, joins the show to provide a visual presentation on how the Inflation Reduction Act may interact with certain OZ projects, particularly those that participate in renewable energy initiatives. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/12/marc-schultz-234/

In October, GTIS Partners hosted their GTIS Investor Day at their headquarters in New York City, which included market insights panels, followed by an Opportunity Zone project tour in New Jersey. Today's podcast episode a recording of that event's Opportunity Zones panel, featuring Jimmy Atkinson from OpportunityDb, Peter Ciganik from GTIS Partners, Joseph Scalio from KPMG, and Kunal Shah from iCapital. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/12/gtis-investor-day-233/

Opportunity Zones can be a powerful tool in wealth creation and wealth preservation. The tax benefit has the ability to compound, which not only preserves but creates wealth. Brian Duren, signing director at CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), joins the show to discuss the Opportunity Zone lifecycle, and the role that the unique tax benefits of OZ investing can play in wealth planning. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/11/brian-duren-232/

In this panel from OZ Pitch Day Fall 2022, Kirk Walton and Gordon Goldie review strategies for performing due diligence on OZ funds. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/11/due-diligence-231/

In this panel from OZ Pitch Day Fall 2022, Paul Saint-Pierre and John Sciarretti discuss current trends in the OZ marketplace and what this means for OZ investors. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/11/investing-trends-230/

In this keynote address from OZ Pitch Day Fall 2022, Shay Hawkins takes a look back at the first few years of the Opportunity Zone program and predicts what may lie ahead. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/11/shay-hawkins-229/

In the wake of the midterm elections, how might the balance of power in the next session of Congress affect Opportunity Zones in 2023 and beyond? Also, potential legislative changes that could form a new "Version 2.0" of Opportunity Zones, and what the OZ industry can do to help its own cause. Alex Bhathal, managing partner at Revitate, and Brett Siglin, partner at Jennings Strouss Law Firm, join the show to discuss the impact of the 2022 midterm elections and the future of OZ tax policy.. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/11/midterm-election-228/

How can the Opportunity Zone incentive catalyze community impact-oriented investing? Allivate Impact Capital's co-founders, Noelle St.Clair Lentz and Doug Schaeffer, join the show to discuss how investing for impact can catalyze positive community outcomes, and lead to lucrative financial returns for investors. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/11/allivate-impact-capital-227/

Register now at OZPitchDay.com. (Plus, get your free bonus guides!) OZ Pitch Day is the biggest online Opportunity Zones event of the year. It's a free, one-day, live event that takes place via Zoom -- Wednesday, November 9th.

Four years into the launch of the first Qualified Opportunity Funds, how have expectations of the tax policy changed? And what types of success have some early adopters had so far? Stephanie Copeland, managing partner at Four Points Funding, joins the show to provide an update on her team's efforts to develop in Opportunity Zone communities in Colorado over the past four years. Show notes: https://opportunitydb.com/2022/11/stephanie-copeland-226/