Greater Washington Shores Opportunity Zone
Overview
The Opportunity Zone Program is a federal program that provides tax incentives, including temporary deferrals on capital gains taxes when investors reinvest those gains in qualified Opportunity Funds. These funds are in turn invested in communities from designated census tracts (Opportunity Zones).
The city's role in the Opportunity Zone Program is to connect funding with projects, develop an investable pipeline of projects and to leverage these projects to create new opportunities for residents and encourage upward mobility.
Vision
Greater Washington Shores is a suburban community with opportunities in senior housing, a neighborhood business district and a potential town center.
The special plan adopted by the Washington Shores Vision Task Force is to develop guidelines for private development and public improvements in the Washington Shores Neighborhood while adding flexibility via a form-based zoning. These guidelines will help minimize the intrusion of office and commercial uses into the surrounding residential neighborhoods and future redevelopment efforts.
Current activity
The Washington Shores Vision Task Force is planning an outgrowth of the Town Center Plan - Phase One Study (completed August 1995). This plan identifies the continued improvements of the Columbia Street and Bruton Boulevard corridors.
Current funding opportunities within Greater Washington Shores include:
- Urban Job Tax Credit Program (UJTCP) - endorsed by the Florida Legislature to encourage the creation of jobs in urban areas of the state.
Anchor development
The Greater Washington Shores area comprise mostly of single and multi-family housing units, numerous churches and multiple public and private schools. One of the major landmarks in the area is the Lake Fran Urban Wetlands and Eagle Nest Park.
This district is directly across from Valencia College West Campus, with numerous commercial and retail properties along South Kirkman Road, including: a Walmart Supercenter, various fitness centers, fast-food chains and bank offices.