Unlike unicorns, opportunity zones have no magical powers, so planting commercial real estate in one of them is worthless unless the underwriting and numbers make sense from the beginning.

Asset price appreciation spawned by all the hype surrounding these neighborhoods could make these numbers harder to justify, experts said at Bisnow’s Texas Opportunity Zones Summit Tuesday. Hoque Global CEO Mike Hoque already has developments underway in Dallas’ opportunity zones of Cedars and South Dallas.

Noble goals and tax benefits alone are not enough to make opportunity zones worth the investment, panelists said. One question to be answered is what happens to clients with land already positioned in opportunity zones. “There is no such thing as two opportunity zones that are exactly like.

There is a lot of political risk.” The right investors for opportunity zones are those who intend to build up the community – providing both real estate and day-to-day activity in the region, McMahon said.