(press.) I met Oscar Perry Abello at the SOCAP Conference in San Francisco last September where there was a lot of talk about the federal government’s new and controversial “Opportunity Zones.” He followed up with this piece for Next City. “Atlanta’s West End Welcoming Opportunity Zone Investors to the Neighborhood.”

Excerpt > “Von is now in the process of acquiring the West End Mall and working with the community to plan a $400 million, multi-year, multi-phase overhaul into a walkable mixed-use development with retail, cultural, offices, residential spaces and a hotel. His business partner on the project is Ryan Gravel, the original visionary behind the Atlanta Beltline. While each brings key connections and expertise to the project, neither has ever led a real estate development deal before. They’re jumping off together into the deep end of the economic development pool, and they’re expecting to get a boost from Opportunity Zones — the new investor tax break intended to encourage new investment in economically distressed areas. “The only thing I wish Opportunity Zones had was some sort of inclusion mindset like airport and state contracts have,” Von says. “Without that being mandated, we’re reverse-engineering that.” > More