REAL ESTATE

Indiana submits 126 census tracts for Opportunity Zone designations; Rochester included

Governor Mike Braun announced Indiana nominated 126 census tracts for Opportunity Zone designation for the 2027–2036 cycle, and the nominations — including a tract in Rochester — were submitted to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Giant FM reports.

BUSINESSINDY BRIEFBy BusinessIndy Editorial StaffCommentsPublished October 8, 2026 at 6:03 PM EDTOriginal reporting: September 30, 2026 at 8:55 PM EDT · Brief prepared from earlier coverage

AI-generated illustration of the topic: Indiana submits 126 census tracts for Opportunity Zone designations; Rochester included — AI illustration · Not a photograph of the reported event.

Giant FM reports that on 2026-10-01 Governor Mike Braun announced Indiana had nominated 126 census tracts for Opportunity Zone designation for the 2027–2036 cycle. The list of nominations includes a tract in Rochester and covers all or portions of 61 cities or towns across 47 counties, including 42 rural census tracts.

The nominations were submitted to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The article notes the updated program — often called "OZ 2.0" and made permanent through the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act — will designate new Opportunity Zones every 10 years. The nominations are described as identifying "economically distressed communities across the state with strong potential to attract private investment, spur development and support sustained economic growth."

WHY IT MATTERS

Opportunity Zones are a federal program Congress first created in 2017 to encourage private investment in economically distressed areas. According to Giant FM, Indiana’s nominations are framed to identify communities that state officials say have potential to draw private capital and development.

How this works, step by step: the state compiles nominations of census tracts it wants considered for designation, then submits those nominations to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for consideration. Under the updated program referenced in the report — commonly called "OZ 2.0" and made permanent by the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act — new Opportunity Zone designations are set on a ten-year cycle; the current nominations are for the 2027–2036 cycle.

For example: a nominated tract in a town like Rochester is now on the list the state sent to Treasury. That nomination does not itself create tax incentives; it is the submission step that asks Treasury to include the tract in the formal 2027–2036 designations.

What to watch next: whether and when the U.S. Department of the Treasury formally designates the nominated tracts for the 2027–2036 cycle, and any Treasury guidance or timelines the department releases about final designation decisions.

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