CONTACT:
Laura Strimple, (402) 580-9495
Justin Pinkerman, DED, justin.pinkerman@nebraska.gov
Gov. Pillen Nominates 28 Tracts for Designation as Federal Opportunity Zones
View a map of the nominated tracts.
LINCOLN, NE — Today,Governor Jim Pillen announced that he has nominated 28 census tracts for designation as federal opportunity zones. He has submitted the nominations to the U.S. Treasury Department under the new Federal Opportunity Zones Program (OZ 2.0) authorized by Congress in 2025. The Governor was joined for the announcement by Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) Director Maureen Larsen, Omaha Mayor John Ewing, Lexington Mayor John Fagot, McCook Mayor Linda Taylor, and Norfolk Mayor Shane Clausen.
“Opportunity Zones are powerful tools to encourage investments that will help build housing and create jobs,” said Gov. Pillen. “The new Opportunity Zone initiative sweetens incentives for investing in rural communities, which is great news for Nebraska. We’re thankful to the Trump Administration for launching this game-changing initiative, which will boost our state’s economic growth without burdening Nebraska’s taxpayers.”
The Federal Opportunity Zones Program
Through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Congress established the first iteration of the federal Opportunity Zones Program (OZ 1.0). The purpose of the program is to promote investment and drive economic growth in low-income and/or economically disadvantaged communities. Nebraska has been a leading state in attracting investments into opportunity zones under OZ 1.0, ranking second among Midwestern states in opportunity zone investments per capita.
In 2025, Congress made the Federal Opportunity Zones Program permanent and updated its benefits through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The new program, OZ 2.0, includes enhanced tax benefits for qualified investments in rural communities. Per federal rules, Nebraska was allowed to nominate 28 of the state’s 112 eligible census tracts for designation as Opportunity Zones under the new program.
Nebraska’s Nomination Process
In March, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development invited communities with eligible census tracts to apply for Opportunity Zone designation. DED received applications from communities covering 107 of the 112 eligible tracts. The Department then evaluated the applications for investment readiness, economic need, and potential community benefit before providing recommendations to the Governor’s Office. Nebraska is among the first states to submit opportunity zone nominations for the new Federal Opportunity Zones Program. Following certification from the U.S. Treasury Department, the nominated tracts will be designated as opportunity zones beginning January 1, 2027.
“Thank you to Governor Pillen for positioning Nebraska to take full advantage of the new-and-improved Opportunity Zones!” said Nebraska Department of Economic Development Director Maureen Larsen. “Our state is leading the way in identifying tracts, both rural and urban, that are ripe for business and housing development. We’ve seen strong interest from across Nebraska in investing in Opportunity Zones. Thank you to the many communities who applied for OZ designation!”
The Benefits of Opportunity Zones
Within Opportunity Zones, investments made through certified investment vehicles known as “Opportunity Funds” can be used to spur economic growth—for example, by supporting new businesses or workforce housing development. Investors in Opportunity Funds can benefit from tax incentives, such as deferrals on capital gains tax.
Compared to the initial rollout of Opportunity Zones (OZ 1.0), the new Opportunity Zones initiative (OZ 2.0) includes significantly upgraded benefits for rural areas through the creation of a Qualified Rural Opportunity Fund. This fund offers investors better tax incentives (a 30% basis step-up compared to 10% for standard funds). It also lowers investment hurdles by decreasing the substantial improvement threshold for rehab projects from 100% to 50%.
“As Mayor, I’ve learned every city has potential. The challenge is in finding communities with promise. It’s creating conditions for promise to grow. That is why the opportunity zones matter,” said Mayor Clausen. “They don’t guarantee success. They don’t replace the hard work happening in our communities every day. What they do is give us another opportunity to compete, to attract investment, encourage redevelopment, and help turn good ideas into reality.”
“Some people might think — why Lexington with opportunity zones when we might have some adequate housing within our community? We’re going forward. We’re going to work with building houses. We’re going to build our community. We’re going to go forward in every aspect,” said Mayor Fagot. “With this, we think it is going to create a lot of good opportunities. And we have a lot of optimism in our community.”
“The City of McCook would like to thank Governor Pillen and the team at the Nebraska Department of Economic Development for selecting McCook's Opportunity Zone application,” said McCook Mayor Linda Taylor. “This will help move our community forward with the recent expansions of our Industrial Park, new residential development projects, and the completion of our Airport Master Plan. We look forward to sharing with others the great things that we are doing in McCook.”
In May, Governor Pillen hosted U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner for community roundtables in Fremont and Omaha. During the visit Gov. Pillen and Secretary Turner discussed how Nebraska could best benefit from the new Opportunity Zones. As the new zones take effect, the State is particularly focused on encouraging public-private collaboration to develop workforce housing within them.
“We need all vehicles to drive development of housing that is safe, decent, and affordable,” said Omaha Mayor John Ewing. “I am hopeful this designation will spur meaningful change in the eastern part of our city where it is much needed.”
Opportunity Zones in Nebraska
To learn more about Opportunity Zones in Nebraska, visit the Department of Economic Development’s website.
A map of the 28 tracts that Governor Pillen nominated for designation as Opportunity Zones. They are also listed below.
Nebraska’s Census Tracts Nominated for Designation as Opportunity Zones
Congressional District 1:
- Bellevue - Census Tract 104.02
- Columbus - Census Tract 9656
- Fremont - Census Tract 9642
- Lincoln - Census Tract 5
- Lincoln - Census Tract 6
- Lincoln - Census Tract 18
- Lincoln - Census Tract 21
- Lincoln - Census Tract 31.04
- Norfolk - Census Tract 9607
Congressional District 2:
- Omaha - Census Tract 8
- Omaha - Census Tract 11
- Omaha - Census Tract 12
- Omaha - Census Tract 16
- Omaha - Census Tract 27
- Omaha - Census Tract 29
- Omaha - Census Tract 34.01
- Omaha - Census Tract 40
- Omaha - Census Tract 42
- Omaha - Census Tract 70.01
Congressional District 3:
- Alliance - Census Tract 9513
- Beatrice - Census Tract 9649
- Crete - Census Tract 9606.02
- Hastings - Census Tract 9660
- Lexington - Census Tract 9685
- McCook - Census Tract 9633
- North Platte - Census Tract 9602
- Ogallala - Census Tract 1
-
Scottsbluff - Census Tract 9537
Gov. Pillen addresses attendees of Federal Opportunity Zones announcement
DED Director Maureen Larsen addresses attendees of Federal Opportunity Zones announcement
Norfolk Mayor Shane Clausen addresses attendees of Federal Opportunity Zones announcement
