Officials from Bristol and the state of Connecticut met on Nov. 28 to discuss establishing an “opportunity zone” to help the city’s economic development, according to the Bristol Press.
Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu and Justin Malley, executive director of the Bristol Development Authority met with David Kooris, deputy commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and Maya Loewenberg, the DECD’s building construction supervisor, regarding the program, which is run through the IRS.
Businesses that make investments in those struggling urban areas could receive tax breaks and other incentives under the federal tax overhaul passed earlier this year.
“The DECD is going around and trying to make sure that community leaders are aware of this program and ready to respond to it,” Zoppo-Sassu told the newspaper. “It was a very good meeting and Justin and I have also decided that we want the city to play a role in educating our residents about it.”
She identified census tract 4061, which includes downtown and the city’s Riverside Avenue corridor, as a priority for opportunity zones. She noted that the “aesthetics” along Riverside Avenue “could use improvement.”
