Governor Kim Reynolds recently announced nominations for Iowa Opportunity Zones, and Perry was one of 62 areas submitted to the United States Treasury for the program.

Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson, along with Linda Wunsch from the Greater Dallas County Development Alliance, worked on the application. Peterson says cities had to have an eligible census tract, with the primary determining factor being low-income, and Perry had two zones that qualified. However, only one of the two zones was nominated by the governor. The targeted area includes all of downtown Perry, and most of the area to the west.

Peterson explains what the Opportunity Zone could do for Perry. “If somebody has a large amount of capital gains and a large tax liability with that, they can take that money and put it into an opportunity fund, and then make an investment within that opportunity zone. And what we’re hoping to be able to accomplish with this is attract a good deal of investment to the community.”

Peterson adds, the Opportunity Zone could serve as a sort of shot in the arm to development in Perry and the surrounding area. “I think this is a good opportunity for Perry to be able to showcase some of the possibilities that we have. Not only within our downtown, but also in some of the other commercial areas. And maybe even provide a good way for us to be able to attract investment into our downtown and rehabilitate some of the buildings that we’ve got.”

The City should learn sometime in the coming months if it has been accepted for the program.