Opportunity Zones Available for Maui County

Opportunity Zones.

The Mayor’s Office of Economic Development announced that Opportunity Zones are now available for the County of Maui.

OED worked with the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism and the Governor’s Office to designate zones for Maui County as required by Federal Legislation.

This new program provides incentives for investors to re-invest unrealized capital gains into Opportunity Funds in exchange for temporary tax deferral and other benefits. The Opportunity Funds will then be used to provide investment capital in certain low-income communities.

“The zones are qualified based on census tract information,” said Teena Rasmussen, Director of OED. “Because of this, only certain portions of Maui Island were eligible to be designated Opportunity Zones.”

Maui’s zones consist of the core of Wailuku town, which is slated for redevelopment; a zone in Kahului that includes the old Kahului Industrial area, airport area, the new Maui Business Park and agriculture land beyond it; a zone comprising Hāliʻimaile and a portion of Makawao town; and a zone that encompasses Kaunakakai on Molokaʻi. The program should assist those who have been wanting to redevelop their properties in these older parts of Maui, as well as on Molokaʻi where funding for infrastructure improvements is needed.

“It is now up to the private sector to come to the table with projects to attract investment,” said Rasmussen. “The tax incentives are very attractive, especially for long-term investing.”

For more information on the Opportunity Zones Program, visit https://invest.hawaii.gov/hawaii-opportunity-zones/.