The St. Mary’s County Department of Economic Development will host a public information session on Thursday November 8, from 10 a.m. until noon, regarding a new, federally designated Opportunity Zone in Lexington Park.
The meeting will be held at Precise Systems’ Curtiss Room, 22290 Exploration Drive, Suite 300, in Lexington Park.
Frank Dickson, Director of Strategic Business Initiatives at the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, will present the benefits of Opportunity Zones and the various ways individuals, property owners and businesses can benefit. Attendees will learn, ask questions and sign up for private meetings with the Department of Economic Development.
Opportunity Zones (O-Zones) were created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. Designed to bring new investment to economically-distressed areas, the first set of O-Zones was federally designated in April 2018. St. Mary’s County is home to one O-Zone in the Lexington Park Development District. The O-Zone encompasses an area from Buck Hewitt Road in the north to Chancellor’s Run Road and Great Mills Road, between Three Notch Road and Forest Run Drive in the south. A link to the State-wide map of O-Zones is available at https://bit.ly/2F2ttC5.
The O-Zones program provides tax benefits to investors who experience a capital gain and invest the capital gain in an O-Zone. Three tiers of benefits are available based on the duration of the investment. The purpose of the meeting is to provide property owners, local business, real estate professionals, bankers and residents with awareness and knowledge about the program.
St. Mary’s County has an opportunity to attract investment dollars into Lexington Park. The County’s Strategic Plan to Build an Innovation-Driven Economy names the development of walkable, mixed-use town centers as crucial to economic diversification and workforce attraction and retention. Popular with younger workers and baby boomers alike, these locales offer opportunities to walk around and gathering places to connect with others along with shops and cultural experiences. Lexington Park, near the county’s geographic center and employment center, is a key growth area as part of the strategy.
To learn more about Opportunity Zones log on to: https://www.stmarysmd.com/ded/opportunityzone/.
