OZ Insiders Hits A Major Milestone

Fueled by the momentum of Opportunity Zones 2.0, the OZ industry is surging into the final months of 2025 with record participation, a new rural map, and a wave of upcoming events.

Jimmy Atkinson and Andy Hagans break down the latest news and trends shaping the OZ landscape — including a major milestone for OZ Insiders, the updated Opportunity Zone Map featuring new rural designations, and the fast-approaching Novogradac OZ Summit and OZ Pitch Day.

Opportunity Zone News & Events

About OZ NewsHour

OZ NewsHour covers the key stories happening right now in the world of Opportunity Zones. Hosts Andy Hagans and Jimmy Atkinson discuss the powerful trends that investors, fund managers, real estate developers, and industry professionals need to know. If it’s a must-know development in the Opportunity Zone world, we cover it here.

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Episode Summary

OZ Insiders Hits 60 Members

Jimmy and Andy open the show by celebrating a major community milestone: OZ Insiders has surpassed 60 active members — doubling in size since the passage of Opportunity Zones 2.0. Originally launched two years ago following a masterclass at the University of Notre Dame’s Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate, OZ Insiders was designed as a high-quality mastermind community for fund managers, developers, attorneys, and CPAs.

The hosts emphasize that the group’s value lies in its relationships and collaboration. Members regularly share expertise during live sessions and group coaching calls, which now average record attendance. Recent classes have included:

  • Ashley Tison on the new rural incentives under OZ 2.0
  • Todd Vitzthum on CRE market trends and OZ sector performance
  • Blake Christian on minimizing 2026 tax liability using the “lesser-of” rule
  • Jim Lang with the first in-depth breakdown of the OZ 2.0 legislation

Upcoming sessions include attorney Gerry Reihsen on “OZ 2.0 Prep for QOFs” (November 10) and EIG’s Kenan Fikri and Catherine Lyons on the new OZ 2.0 designation process (December 8).

Jimmy also teases an internal “skunkworks” project: new AI-powered tools that will soon make OpportunityZones.com’s proprietary content more interactive for members.

Novogradac 2025 OZ Summit Preview

The hosts preview the Novogradac Opportunity Zones Summit, taking place December 3 at the Four Seasons Las Vegas. Jimmy will speak on the “OZ 2.0: A Blizzard of OZ” panel, alongside other industry leaders including Michael Novogradac.

The agenda features sessions on:

  • The Washington legislative and regulatory outlook
  • QOZB compliance and OZ 2.0 regulations
  • A “Rural Mural” panel focused on rural incentives

Attendance is expected to exceed 200 people — potentially double or triple prior years — reflecting the surge of interest post-legislation.

OZ Insiders members attending the conference are invited to a private dinner on December 2 at Border Grill at Mandalay Bay, sponsored by CapZone Analytics. The dinner is expected to host 30–40 members.

The New Rural Opportunity Zone Map

Jimmy walks through the newly released IRS Notice 2025-50, which officially designates over 3,000 of the 8,764 existing OZ tracts as rural. Under OZ 2.0, properties in these tracts are now eligible for a 50% substantial-improvement requirement (instead of 100%), effective immediately.

He demonstrates the updated OpportunityZones.com Map, now color-coded with orange for rural and blue for non-rural zones, allowing users to visualize rural eligibility nationwide.

Andy and Jimmy discuss the likely market impact:

  • The new rule may help bail out projects that were already in progress but struggling to meet 100% improvement thresholds.
  • Broader rural development activity will probably take off starting in 2027, when the second incentive — a 30% basis step-up (vs 10% for urban tracts) — becomes effective.
  • The biggest opportunities may emerge for ag-tech, industrial, warehousing, data-center, and manufacturing projects that naturally fit rural locations.

OZ Pitch Day: November 13

The next OZ Pitch Day — the flagship investor event hosted by OpportunityZones.com — is set for Thursday, November 13 and already trending toward record attendance. Registrations surpassed 500 with two-and-a-half weeks remaining, on pace to exceed 1,000 participants.

The free online event will showcase multiple Qualified Opportunity Funds and development sponsors, with presentations from:

  • Anchorvest Real Estate – Class A Multifamily in Buffalo & St. Petersburg
  • Green Street – Title Partner Presentation
  • Your Space America (QOF) – Bakersfield Self-Storage Project
  • Vista QOF / Tideline Partners – San Diego County Multifamily
  • Centennial Advisors – “Golden Opportunity Strategy” led by Axel Adler
  • Alternative Wealth Partners – “Overmatch Fund” (Defense Manufacturing)
  • Liva by Clear Mountain Properties – Multifamily in Travelers Rest, SC
  • Blueprint Local – National Multifamily Portfolio
  • CA South Development – Two Modernest projects in Nashville

Jimmy will again open the day with his 20-minute “Opportunity Zone Investing Explained” keynote.

Pick of the Month

For their closing “Pick of the Month” segment:

  • Jimmy’s pick was a Crain’s Grand Rapids Business article profiling Andy’s new private-equity real estate firm, Mastiff Equity Partners, which recently acquired two retail properties in Holland and Saugatuck, Michigan.
  • Andy’s pick was Jonathan Tower’s article “No Time to Wait: Why Investors Should Be Looking at OZ Funds Right Now,” highlighting five reasons to invest before OZ 1.0 tracts phase out — especially the “last chance for certain prime zones.”

Jimmy expands on the point, noting that the top 10% of OZ 1.0 tracts have seen years of development momentum that newer OZ 2.0 tracts may not match. While OZ 2.0 offers richer incentives beginning in 2027, investors can still find outstanding projects today in established zones before those designations expire.

Closing

The hosts wrap up with thanks to the growing OZ Insiders community, invite listeners to attend Pitch Day and the Novogradac Summit, and note that the next OZ NewsHour episode will air after the World Series — hopefully with Jimmy’s Dodgers as champions.