DOVER, Del. — Delaware has nominated 25 census tracts for the next generation of Opportunity Zones, with seven of the selected areas in Sussex County.
Gov. Matt Meyer announced the nominations Monday following a state selection process that included community submissions, stakeholder feedback and economic analysis. According to the governor’s office, the state chose the 25 census tracts from 61 eligible areas after receiving 237 community nominations.
The selections include 13 census tracts in New Castle County, five in Kent County and seven in Sussex County. Twelve are federally designated rural census tracts, including all of the selections in Kent and Sussex counties.
“Opportunity Zones will bring private investment and economic opportunity to communities that have too often been overlooked,” said Governor Matt Meyer. “We spent months listening to communities and studying where investment is needed most, where it can succeed, and where we can use every tool available to help it grow. These 25 nominations reflect a strategy built around investing in people and creating opportunity across our state.”
The seven nominated Sussex County census tracts are in and around Seaford, Milford, north of Georgetown, Laurel and south of Millsboro. They can be seen on the map here.
The Delaware Division of Small Business led the state's selection process. The governor's office said the division worked with the Office of State Planning Coordination to analyze eligible areas using factors including poverty rates, median family income, brownfield sites and Downtown Development Districts.
Several nominated areas overlap with existing Downtown Development Districts, including Georgetown, Seaford, Laurel, Milford, Dover, Wilmington and the city of New Castle.
Opportunity Zones provide federal tax benefits intended to encourage long-term private investment in eligible communities. Under the program scheduled to begin Jan. 1, 2027, qualifying rural Opportunity Zone investments will be eligible for enhanced federal tax benefits, according to the governor's office.
Delaware's nominations have been submitted for federal certification. The areas will not become Opportunity Zones unless the U.S. Department of the Treasury certifies them. If approved, the designations will take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
The new federal framework makes the Opportunity Zone program permanent and provides for a new round of state nominations every 10 years.
