La Costa 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
La Costa is part of the “gateway” to Orlando International Airport. This area boasts an abundant amount of redevelopment opportunities, and is unique for having housing potential overlooking an urban wetland park.
Gateway Orlando District, an Orlando Main Street Program, encompasses a part of the La Costa district along South Semoran Boulevard. The mission of Gateway Orlando is to focus on helping businesses along the Semoran Corridor grow by establishing connections with the surrounding community and with other businesses within the area.
Current activity
Gateway Orlando is helping build awareness of the Semoran Corridor by providing valuable resources to the member businesses and by promoting the businesses from within the district. All while improving safety in the area through their Gateway Guardian Program and encouraging beautification projects to improve the experience of people within the community. Current beautification projects include; electrical box and bus shelter art, murals and boulevard banners to promote a sense of identity within the La Costa area.
Anchor development
La Costa offers the distinctive opportunity for housing development overlooking the La Costa Urban Wetlands. Centrally located within the area is the Engelwood Neighborhood Center Park which provides numerus recreational uses for the surrounding neighborhoods.
La Costa has a large Hispanic population and acts as a hub for Hispanic businesses and residential communities, such as; Hola Supermarket, Lechonera Amor Amor and Caridad Restaurant. As well as, containing numerous churches within the district.