By September 28, 2026, Florida must submit its recommended list of Opportunity Zone census tracts to the U.S. Treasury, according to Frances Kern Mennone, Managing Director of Industry Consultants & Advisors at FBT Gibbons, an AmLaw 200 law firm with offices in Cincinnati and Naples. Once finalized, the map stays fixed for a full decade. Tracts that make the cut gain a tax incentive that draws private investment. Those that don’t lose that magnet entirely.
Mennone has been tracking every state’s designation process nationally. She describes the stakes directly: “The ramifications of the way in which we decide the new map for opportunity zones is going to be in place for 10 years.”
Opportunity Zones offer tax benefits to investors who place capital gains into qualified projects within designated census tracts. When a neighborhood carries that designation, it becomes more attractive for development – new apartments, commercial buildings, mixed-use projects. That activity can push property values upward and bring services, jobs, and foot traffic to areas that previously lacked them.
The reverse also applies. If a tract held designation during the first round (OZ 1.0, which began in 2018) and loses it now, investor interest in that area may cool. If a neighboring tract gains designation, the character of that area may shift as development increases over the following years.
The decision is binary: a tract is in, or it’s out. And the result holds until the mid-2030s.
Each state can only nominate 25 percent of its eligible distressed census tracts. Florida’s process involves asking local communities – Miami, Naples, Fort Lauderdale, and others – where they want designations placed within their own boundaries.
Florida originally set an earlier deadline for local input but extended it. Mennone says the extension came “in part because they knew they were getting a lot more feedback than they kind of expected to get.” That suggests communities across the state are recognizing what’s at stake – but also that many are still learning what Opportunity Zone designation actually means for their areas.
A staff transition also occurred during the process. The original state point of contact, Ben Latham, retired mid-cycle, shifting responsibility to a new contact person. Mennone’s understanding is that a proper handoff took place.
Florida has not yet released its recommended list publicly, though Mennone says her understanding is the state plans to do so when it submits to Treasury. That public release matters. Once the list is visible, anyone considering a property can assess whether it sits inside or outside a designated zone – and what that might mean for future development pressure or investment flows nearby.
Treasury is unlikely to override state choices. Mennone describes the federal role as largely deferential: the agency produced a list of eligible tracts based on census data and distress criteria, and states select from that menu.
A tract can carry designation for a full decade and still see limited activity. Opportunity Zone investment is self-selected by private investors – no government agency directs where projects go or ensures they happen. Mennone describes several conditions that must align for a project to move forward: political support, the right incentive and entitlement structure, market readiness for whatever is being developed, and a capable project sponsor. “If any one of those things isn’t aligned at that particular moment in time,” she says, the project stalls regardless of the tax benefit available.
But a neighborhood without designation has one fewer tool to attract the kind of capital that funds large-scale development. For buyers weighing two similar properties in different tracts, designation status is one more variable worth checking – especially since the answer won’t change for a decade.
The Opportunity Zone program became permanent under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, removing the uncertainty that previously gave developers reason to hesitate. According to Mennone, more than $112 billion in investment flowed into Opportunity Zones during the first round, spread across roughly 41,000 individual taxpayers through 2024.
Still, Mennone says the total addressable market far exceeds current usage. “There’s a lot more meat on the bone,” she says. “I would encourage everybody to take a second look at it.”
Investors waiting on final Treasury guidance about transition rules between OZ 1.0 and 2.0 may face a delay – those rules have not yet been released. But for Florida property owners, the immediate decision point is the September 28 deadline, after which their tract’s status is locked in.
About the Expert: Frances Kern Mennone is Managing Director at Industry Consultants & Advisors within FBT Gibbons, an AmLaw 200 firm based in Cincinnati.
This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. The views and opinions expressed herein reflect those of the individuals quoted and do not represent an endorsement of any company, product, or service mentioned. Readers should conduct their own due diligence and consult qualified professionals before making any investment decisions.
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