Opportunity Zones Stakeholder Engagement Meeting

A group of five Lawrence-area organizations, including the City of Lawrence, Douglas County Community Foundation, Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods, Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, and University of Kansas, will host a stakeholder engagement meeting for residents, business owners and other interested parties to give their input on desired developments in the two opportunity zones located in Lawrence.

Opportunity zones are a new federal economic development tool enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that is designed to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities. In 2018, then-Governor of Kansas Jeff Colyer designated two opportunity zones in Lawrence.

The first Lawrence opportunity zone is the “University Zone,” which includes the entire KU campus. The second opportunity zone is the “East Lawrence Zone,” which includes four targeted investment areas: the eastern side of the Downtown Lawrence shopping district, the historic Warehouse Arts District, VenturePark and East Hills Business Park, and parts of several eastern Lawrence neighborhoods.

The stakeholder engagement meeting will be held from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22 in Flory Hall at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St. Community members attending the meeting will have the opportunity to proactively share what types of developments they would like to see in the opportunity zones. Input shared at the meeting will be provided to the Lawrence City Commission and included in an informational guide that will be available for prospective investors.

The ultimate goal of the opportunity zones program is to spur meaningful economic development in these areas. Additional information is available on our website: lawrenceks.org/ed/opportunity-zones