Full and original article posted on Hoodline.
Worcester-area power players are suddenly on the clock. They have just days to influence where the next wave of federal Opportunity Zone money lands, as a new brief from the Worcester Regional Research Bureau collides with the state’s accelerated nomination process for a revamped OZ map that kicks in for 2027.
The Research Bureau’s June brief charts 49 Opportunity Zone-eligible census tracts across Worcester County, with 26 of them inside the city of Worcester. The report comes with an interactive map packed with demographic, tax and transit data so municipal leaders can line up tracts side by side and decide which ones make the strongest case for designation.
The brief also underlines how tight the public input window really is. Municipal officials can submit up to three priority tracts by June 17, and residents can weigh in through a public feedback form that stays open only until June 30, according to the Worcester Regional Research Bureau.
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