St. Louis Has Its Opportunity Zone Map. What Was the Local Strategy?

Discover the local strategy behind St. Louis’ Opportunity Zone Map. Learn how the city aims to foster economic growth and stimulate revitalization in underdeveloped areas.

St Louis Opportunity Zones Local Strategy — A ten-year investment designation deserves a clear explanation of the future it is intended to help build. Image courtesy of DM

St. Louis’s new Opportunity Zones 2.0 map includes ten census tracts. Two represent
North St. Louis neighborhoods: tract 1123, which includes Fountain Park, and tract
1277, which includes JeffVanderLou. The remaining selections are concentrated in the
central corridor and downtown areas. Dutchtown is outside the new designation map.

These designations run from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2036. That makes
the strategy behind these choices consequential.

We know there was a state nomination process. What was the city’s process for
developing its recommendations?

Who participated? What criteria guided the recommendations? How were community
priorities, development potential, and existing project preparation weighed?

I support investment in Downtown and the central corridor. Their success matters to St.
Louis. My concern is whether the overall approach reflects a long-term strategy for
strengthening the entire city.

As the former Chief Opportunity Zone Officer for St. Louis, I helped organize work that
included North St. Louis and Dutchtown in South St. Louis. We worked with community
organizations, connected project sponsors with technical assistance, and supported the
preparation needed to move development forward.

That groundwork deserved consideration in the transition to OZ 2.0.
Which organizations had strengthened their capacity? Which projects had advanced?
Where could additional support help bring a complicated building or neighborhood
development closer to investment?

Readiness matters. So does investing in the work that creates readiness.
Not every designation should go to the most disinvested area. Employment centers and
established commercial corridors can have legitimate needs and strategic value. But a
balanced approach should also consider where this incentive, combined with other
resources, could help address persistent development barriers.

A long-vacant building with complicated ownership, environmental concerns, or a
financing gap may require years of coordinated work. Returning that property to
productive use could support businesses, improve surrounding conditions and
strengthen the tax base.

A ten-year strategy should account for those possibilities.
The concentration of designations raises questions about whose priorities carried
weight. The map alone cannot establish who influenced the decisions. Publishing the
recommendations, criteria, and rationale would allow residents to evaluate the choices
fairly.

Now, leaders should explain how the selected areas fit into a broader development plan
and what ongoing support will be provided to North St. Louis, Dutchtown, and other
neighborhoods outside the new map.

Opportunity Zone designation does not guarantee investment. Its absence does not
eliminate a community’s potential.

St. Louis has its map. Residents deserve to understand the strategy behind these
choices and the plan for turning them into a stronger city.

Designation and geographic references: Treasury’s published tract list, city geography
records and IRS guidance.