State of Michigan Releases Final Opportunity Zone 2.0 Selections

LANSING (Friday, Nov. 6, 2026) – The state of Michigan has released its final set of Opportunity Zone 2.0 designations, approved this week by the federal government. Opportunity Zones are a federal income tax incentive designed to mobilize private investments in lower-income communities by incentivizing the reinvestment of capital gains into projects in designated census tracts. Qualifying investments include real estate, business expansion, manufacturing, energy, and other related projects.

The state’s final recommendations were reached after a months-long, robust public engagement process that generated hundreds of distinct pieces of feedback on a quantitative framework as well as on individual census tracts. The state workgroup hosted 13 in-person and virtual meetings across the state that generated more than 700 unique pieces of public input. Final recommended Opportunity Zone 2.0 designations can be viewed at MichiganBusiness.org/OpportunityZones.

“We are grateful to the many hundreds of organizations and individuals who showed up in-person and online to help shape the state’s next round of Opportunity Zones, and to the federal government for endorsing this work,” said Quentin L. Messer, Jr., CEO of the MEDC. “While the breadth of opportunity in our state exceeded our ability to select all due to federal constraints, Team Michigan is going to hit the ground running in January to ensure these Opportunities Zones established by the new federal tool leverage private investments to help us build more housing, bring new small businesses to our downtowns, grow manufacturing, and create more opportunities for Michiganders.”

The state’s workgroup on Opportunity Zones 2.0 included representatives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), Department of Treasury, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), including LEO’s Office of Rural Prosperity.

In April 2026, the federal government released its list of eligible census tracts, which included some but not all of those previously designated as Opportunity Zones, and asked states to officially nominate up to 25% of eligible tracts for designation as Opportunity Zones. How to determine those tracts was left to the states; Michigan designed a quantitative model aimed at advancing Michigan’s broader strategic economic goals:

1. Housing: Support the creation of multifamily housing projects in communities with demonstrated need.
2. Revitalization and Investment: Encourage revitalization, job creation and business investment in downtowns, and in strategic commercial and industrial corridors.

At each of the 13 public input sessions, attendees were asked to give feedback on the above statewide objectives, on each of the data points selected within each of those objectives, and on specific census tracts within their region. All of this feedback was gathered, collated, and interpreted to inform the development of the final set of recommendations.

Now that the state’s nominations have been approved by the federal government, Opportunity Zone 2.0 designations will take effect on January 1, 2027, and will last 10 years; these designations cannot be revised.

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Threads.