On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was planning to work with the Trump administration to further promote opportunity zones in the Melbourne area.
At an event in Melbourne focused on opportunity zones, DeSantis was joined by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, Enterprise Florida Inc. (EFI) President and CEO Jamal Sowell and Space Florida President and CEO Frank Dibello.
“I enjoyed participating in the opportunity zone forum today,” said DeSantis. “With the fast growth of the commercial space industry, we are witnessing the beginning of an exciting renaissance in Florida’s Space Coast, and opportunity zones are poised to play a big role in the region’s future success. I look forward to working with the Trump administration to promote investment in opportunity zones here and throughout the state to create more opportunities for Floridians.”
“Opportunity zones are a great solution to help drive robust growth to economically distressed areas,” said Nuñez. “The program provides the tools to leverage private sector financial investments and is a win-win for a region’s economic development and its residents.”
“Space Florida is honored to help host the Opportunity Zone Forum as a way to help further economic and community development in distressed and disadvantaged communities,” said DiBello. “Working with our federal, state and local partners, we can help assure all of Florida grows and prospers.”
“Here in Florida, we have perfectly positioned ourselves to facilitate opportunity zone investment,” said Sowell. “At Enterprise Florida, we are gearing our efforts toward putting resources in front of investors, and helping communities position their opportunity zone assets.”
With the Legislature ready to start its regular session next week, DeSantis has proposed $250,000 to market the more than 425 opportunity zones throughout the state. Nine of them are located in Brevard County.
DeSantis also showcased the relaunch of “Find it Florida,” Enterprise Florida’s commercial property locator for private businesses, which now includes opportunity zones.
“Any business owner or entrepreneur can click the Find it Florida tab on Enterprise Florida’s website to view commercially available land and buildings to see whether the property is located within an opportunity zone,” the governor’s office noted.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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