Penn’s Northeast: Working together to attract quality employers to NEPA

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Downtown Wilkes-Barre’s walkability is a business advantage

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Larry Newman, executive director at the Diamond City Partnership &#8212; stewards of the city&#8217;s downtown &#8212; said Downtown Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s businesses and investors are able to benefit from a variety of place-based incentives.</p><p>For example, Newman said Downtown Wilkes-Barre is designated as a Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) &#8212; part of a statewide initiative to foster entrepreneurship in Pennsylvania, KIZs are geographically designated zones, established in communities hosting institutions of higher education, with the specific intention of creating an &#8220;innovation district.&#8221;</p><p>Newman said the KIZ program offers a range of financial resources and assistance to early-stage start-up companies located in Downtown Wilkes-Barre and working in one of the following targeted industry sectors &#8212; Health care/Life Science; Nanotechnology and Advanced Manufacturing; Information Technology and New Media; Back Office/Finance; and Homeland Security.</p><p>&#8220;One of the features of the KIZ program is a saleable state business tax credit, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community &amp; Economic Development,&#8221; Newman said. &#8220;In 2018, DCED awarded more than $1.4 million in KIZ tax credits to qualifying early-stage Luzerne County companies.&#8221;</p><p>Newman said another commonly used development incentive takes advantage of Downtown Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s remarkable legacy of historic architecture.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the Historic Preservation Tax Credit (HPTC), which provides a 20 percent federal tax credit to taxpayers who complete the restoration of a qualified historic structure as an income producing property,&#8221; Newman explained. &#8220;All HPTC projects must include a qualified rehabilitation plan that is approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC).&#8221;</p><p>Pennsylvania has a companion state historic preservation tax credit, which can also be applied for in connection with qualified rehabilitation projects, and which can be used in tandem with the federal HPTC, Newman said.</p><p>Most recently, Newman said Downtown Wilkes-Barre was selected for the Federal government&#8217;s new place-based incentive &#8212; the Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) program.</p><p>&#8220;Congress established the Qualified Opportunity Zones program as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, in order to encourage long-term investments in targeted urban and rural communities nationwide,&#8221; Newman said. &#8220;The QOZ program provides a tax incentive for investors to reinvest their unrealized capital gains into Qualified Opportunity Funds that are dedicated to investing within QOZs that have been designated by each state&#8217;s governor.&#8221;</p><p>The core of Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s downtown, Newman said, extending from South Street to North Street, and from Pennsylvania Avenue to the river, has been designated as a QOZ by Gov. Tom Wolf.</p><p>There are three primary benefits to investing in a QOZ:</p><p>&#8226; A temporary deferral of capital gains invested in an Qualified Opportunity Fund through 2026.</p><p>&#8226; A step-up in basis for capital gains reinvested in a Qualified Opportunity Fund, increasing by 10 percent if held for at least 5 years, and an additional 5 percent if held for at least 7 years.</p><p>&#8226; A permanent exclusion of new capital gains if the investment is held for more than 10 years.</p><p><strong>NOTE:</strong> More information about Qualified Opportunity Zones, Historic Preservation Tax Credits, Keystone Innovation Zones, or other incentives available in Downtown Wilkes-Barre can be obtained by contacting the Diamond City Partnership (www.downtownwilkes-barre.org). </p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_LarryNewman-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Larry Newman, executive director of Diamond City Partnership, stands for a portrait in Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s Public Square park last year. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_LarryNewman-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Larry Newman, executive director of Diamond City Partnership, stands for a portrait in Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s Public Square park last year. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader | File Photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Downtown W-B businesses, investors benefit from a variety of incentives