Emporia has gained an opportunity zone, according to the State of Kansas.

Opportunity zones are being used by the state and around the country to help distressed areas.

Low-income areas of communities are designated as opportunity zones by convincing investors to bring capital into those areas. This program came into being in 2017 after bipartisan federal legislation was passed — specifically the Investing In Opportunity Act. Through this program, investors put money in qualified investment funds and are given a set amount of time to put it to use on a project in one of these zones.

Opportunity zones allow for deferred investment, offering an investor tax-free status on capital gains for a certain period of time, after which a portion of the deferred capital gains will begin to be taxed on a federal level.