Novogradac 2025 Opportunity Zones Summit Recap & Key Takeaways

JAJimmy Atkinson·December 10, 2025 · 4 min read

The Novogradac 2025 Opportunity Zones Summit in Las Vegas drew its largest crowd in years, signaling a powerful resurgence of momentum across the OZ industry. With OZ 2.0 now law and permanency secured, the energy in the room matched the moment—and Jimmy Atkinson was on-site to capture it.

Novogradac Summit chairman Jason Watkins joins the show for a rapid-fire recap of the day’s biggest revelations, including fresh insights from Treasury, the confirmation of overlapping OZ 1.0 and OZ 2.0 zones, and a look ahead at what regulators, states, and investors should expect next. This is your inside look at the conversations shaping the future of Opportunity Zones.

Guest: Jason Watkins

Featured On This Episode

About The Opportunity Zones Podcast

Hosted by OpportunityZones.com founder Jimmy Atkinson, The Opportunity Zones Podcast features guest interviews from fund managers, advisors, policymakers, tax professionals, and other foremost experts in the Opportunity Zones industry.

Listen Now

Episode Summary

Recorded on-site at the Novogradac 2025 Opportunity Zones Summit at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas, this episode features Jimmy Atkinson’s conversation with conference chairman Jason Watkins, who also leads the Novogradac Opportunity Zones Working Group. With attendance tripling compared to recent years, Jason describes a renewed level of excitement driven by OZ 2.0 and the permanency enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Conference Growth and Renewed Industry Energy

Jimmy notes that this year’s summit is “triple the size” of the past several years, with an energized crowd and a strong cross-section of Opportunity Zone stakeholders: attorneys, consultants, accountants, investors, QOFs, and operating businesses. Jason agrees that the industry’s renewed momentum stems from the unexpected speed at which permanency arrived. He recalls that at last year’s conference—held the day after the election—the community was only hopeful for OZ legislation. Seven months later, permanency became a reality, fueling a high level of enthusiasm at this year’s event.

Keynotes, Panels, and Early Insights on Regulatory Direction

Jason highlights several major components of the day’s programming, beginning with the keynote from Eric Oman at Treasury, who addressed upcoming regulatory updates for both the existing OZ rules and new OZ 2.0 provisions. Although many details remain in development, Eric expressed appreciation for the Opportunity Zones Working Group’s commentary and confirmed Treasury’s awareness of specific issues that require guidance.

Additional programming included keynote remarks from Sen. Tim Scott and HUD Secretary Scott Turner, as well as a fireside chat between Michael Novogradac and EIG's John Lettieri, who recounted early conversations from 2015—before the Investing in Opportunity Act was even introduced—that helped shape what would eventually become the Opportunity Zone incentive.

Novogradac Opportunity Zones Working Group

Jimmy and Jason recap the group’s in-person meeting held the day before the conference. Jason explains that the Working Group, formed in 2017, aims to develop best practices, address complex technical issues, and provide regulatory and legislative recommendations to Treasury and lawmakers. Many conference speakers and attendees participate in this monthly working group, which plays an ongoing role in shaping OZ rules and advocating for improvements.

Breaking News: Confirmation of Zone Overlap Under OZ 2.0

A major takeaway from Treasury’s remarks was confirmation that overlapping zones will exist during the transition from OZ 1.0 to OZ 2.0. Jason describes this as “breaking news,” clarifying that although many in the industry assumed overlap would be permitted, today’s confirmation dispelled lingering statutory ambiguity. He emphasizes that forthcoming regulations will be essential for investor certainty as the new program phases in.

Jimmy and Jason also discuss timing: updated ACS data—now scheduled for release on January 29, 2026—will determine eligible tracts for OZ 2.0. States’ designation periods will begin July 1, aligning closely with Novogradac's next annual conference in October 2026.

The Need for Continued Advocacy

Despite the win of permanency, Jason stresses that advocacy must continue. Of the Working Group’s long list of recommended improvements, only two—permanency and rolling five-year deferral—made it into OZ 2.0. Other priorities remain, including reinvestment of interim gains and incentives for affordable housing and job-creating operating businesses.

Jason also emphasizes the importance of education and awareness, noting that EIG’s reporting on Opportunity Zone impact—such as 416,000 new housing units created because of OZs—has not been widely publicized. He describes the large volume of additional housing as a policy success that helped stabilize rents during an inflationary period.

Looking Ahead to the 2026 Novogradac OZ Conference

Jason previews next year’s conference, planned for late October 2026 in Washington, DC. Unlike this year’s one-day format, the 2026 summit will expand to two full days, plus a pre-conference educational day offering OZ 101 and OZ 201 workshops. These sessions, he notes, provide one of the most efficient ways for newcomers and practitioners to learn both foundational and complex aspects of the incentive.