The ROAD to Housing Act and Opportunity Zones

Section 201 lets HUD give extra weight to housing grant applications in Qualified Opportunity Zones, and the RESIDE Act lists Opportunity Zones among its priorities. Here is what that means, and which buildings screened on this site sit in a zone.

Checked against the enacted text of Public Law 119-101 · Updated September 14, 2026

At a glance

Section 201: HUD may give additional weight, in any competitive grant for building, modifying, rehabilitating or preserving housing, to projects located in or substantially and directly benefiting a Qualified Opportunity Zone.
Required?: No. The law says HUD “may,” and HUD decides which grants count as housing grants.
RESIDE: One of four priorities for RESIDE conversion grants, alongside economic distress, consolidated-plan needs and local ordinances that ease conversion.
Which zones: Census tracts designated under section 1400Z-1 of the Internal Revenue Code. The 2018 designations run through December 31, 2028 (December 31, 2027 in Puerto Rico); a new round takes effect January 1, 2027.
On this site: 42 of the 47 buildings screened in Downtown San Jose sit in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract, including 10 of the 10 that would pencil in the model only with an assumed RESIDE grant, at market values. None of the 208 buildings screened in Greater Downtown Denver sits in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract. 11 of the 100 buildings screened in Center City Philadelphia sit in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract. None of the 96 buildings screened in Downtown Boston sits in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract. None of the 205 buildings screened in Downtown San Francisco sits in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract.

What Section 201 does

Section 201, “Increasing housing in Opportunity Zones,” defines a covered grant as any competitive grant relating to the construction, modification, rehabilitation or preservation of housing, as HUD determines. When awarding one, HUD may give additional weight to applicants whose projects are located in, or substantially and directly benefit, a community designated as a Qualified Opportunity Zone. The section does not set how much weight, and it does not require HUD to use it.

Opportunity Zones in the RESIDE pilot

The RESIDE Act goes a step further for its own grants: HUD shall give priority to applicants that will use the money in a Qualified Opportunity Zone, in a community experiencing economic distress, to meet a need in their consolidated plan, or that have passed ordinances reducing barriers to converting vacant and abandoned buildings. A priority is not a requirement. A building outside a zone can still qualify, and a building inside one must still meet the law’s vacant-and-abandoned test.

Which buildings on this site sit in an Opportunity Zone

Each screened building is placed by its map point in the city's data and checked against HUD's layer of the 2018 Opportunity Zone designations.

Downtown San Jose

42 of the 47 buildings screened in Downtown San Jose sit in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract, including 10 of the 10 that would pencil in the model only with an assumed RESIDE grant, at market values. Census tracts: 06085500800, 06085500901, 06085501000 and 06085501600.

Greater Downtown Denver

None of the 208 buildings screened in Greater Downtown Denver sits in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract.

Center City Philadelphia

11 of the 100 buildings screened in Center City Philadelphia sit in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract. Census tracts: 42101000200, 42101013300 and 42101037600.

Downtown Boston

None of the 96 buildings screened in Downtown Boston sits in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract. Buildings that would pencil only with a grant and sit outside a zone: 600 Atlantic Ave, 225 Franklin St, 14 Bowdoin St, 93-101 Arch St, 90 Oliver St, 300 Boylston St, 255 State St and 69-81 Tremont St.

Downtown San Francisco

None of the 205 buildings screened in Downtown San Francisco sits in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract. Buildings that would pencil only with a grant and sit outside a zone: 870 Market St, 266 Bush St, 20 Annie St, 1 Bush St, 465 California St, 41 Montgomery St, 140 New Montgomery St, 615 Market St, 130 Bush St, 1 3rd St, 88 Kearny St, 200 Bush St, 351 California St, 101 Montgomery St, 235 Pine St, 350 Bush St, 431 Natoma St, 220 Bush St, 582 Market St, 401 California St, 785 Market St, 101 Mission St, 49 Stevenson St, 505 Sansome St, 240 Montgomery St, 150 California St, 138 Minna St, 90 New Montgomery St, 400 Montgomery St, 25 Jessie St, 160 Sansome St, 350 Post St, 450 Sansome St, 39 New Montgomery St, 201 Grant Ave, 234 1st St, 47 Geary St, 417 Montgomery St, 191 Battery St, 155 Sansome St, 959 Mission St, 2 Battery St, 234 Bush St, 40 Leavenworth St, 25 Cyril Magnin St, 137 New Montgomery St, 519 Powell St, 808 Mission St, 540 Montgomery St, 715 Market St, 545 Sansome St, 60 Maiden Ln, 1017 Market St, 20 California St, 340 Pine St, 369 Pine St, 301 Geary St, 617 Mission St, 57 Post St, 725 Market St, 222 Kearny St, 562 Market St, 735 Market St, 606 Howard St, 246 Sutter St, 1059 Market St, 111 Battery St, 28 Geary St, 1067 Market St, 121 Steuart St, 131 Steuart St, 118 2nd St, 1170 Market St, 220 California St, 611 Mission St, 25 Kearny St, 425 Bush St, 312 Sutter St, 245 Post St, 98 Battery St, 655 Sutter St, 50 Maiden Ln, 132 2nd St, 32 3rd St, 40 Jessie St, 479 Jessie St, 647 Mission St, 123 Kearny St, 101 Kearny St, 543 Howard St, 182 2nd St and 1563 Mission St.

These counts measure location only. Section 201 also reaches projects that substantially and directly benefit a zone, so a building outside a zone tract is not necessarily outside its reach. Each building is placed by a single map point, so one that straddles a tract boundary needs checking by hand.

Being in a zone is not the same as qualifying. Zone status is a statutory RESIDE priority, and any added Section 201 preference depends on HUD choosing to use that authority. Neither guarantees an award or a set scoring advantage. Zone status does not make a building eligible for RESIDE, and none of these buildings has been checked against the law’s vacant-and-abandoned test.

The Opportunity Zone map is changing

Opportunity Zones are now a permanent part of the tax code, redesignated every 10 years. Under IRS Notice 2026-40, the original 2018 designations run through December 31, 2028, or December 31, 2027 for zones in Puerto Rico, and a new round of zones takes effect on January 1, 2027, running through December 31, 2036. Governors began nominating the new zones in 2026. The RESIDE pilot runs in fiscal years 2027 through 2031, so the zones that count for it may differ from the 2018 map used here. This page will be updated when the new designations are published.

Questions

What does the ROAD to Housing Act do for Opportunity Zones?

Section 201 lets HUD give additional weight, in any competitive grant for building, modifying, rehabilitating or preserving housing, to projects located in or substantially and directly benefiting a Qualified Opportunity Zone. It is optional: HUD may, not must, do it. The RESIDE Act (Section 210) also lists Opportunity Zones among the four priorities for its conversion grants.

Is Downtown San Jose in an Opportunity Zone?

42 of the 47 buildings screened in Downtown San Jose sit in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract, including 10 of the 10 that would pencil in the model only with an assumed RESIDE grant, at market values. They fall in census tracts 06085500800, 06085500901, 06085501000 and 06085501600. This uses the 2018 designations; a new round of zones takes effect on January 1, 2027.

Is Greater Downtown Denver in an Opportunity Zone?

None of the 208 buildings screened in Greater Downtown Denver sits in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract. This uses the 2018 designations; a new round of zones takes effect on January 1, 2027.

Is Center City Philadelphia in an Opportunity Zone?

11 of the 100 buildings screened in Center City Philadelphia sit in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract. They fall in census tracts 42101000200, 42101013300 and 42101037600. This uses the 2018 designations; a new round of zones takes effect on January 1, 2027.

Is Downtown Boston in an Opportunity Zone?

None of the 96 buildings screened in Downtown Boston sits in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract. This uses the 2018 designations; a new round of zones takes effect on January 1, 2027.

Is Downtown San Francisco in an Opportunity Zone?

None of the 205 buildings screened in Downtown San Francisco sits in a 2018 Opportunity Zone tract. This uses the 2018 designations; a new round of zones takes effect on January 1, 2027.

Do Opportunity Zones matter for RESIDE Act grants?

They are one of four priorities HUD must give weight to, alongside communities experiencing economic distress, needs in a jurisdiction's consolidated plan, and local ordinances that ease conversion. A priority is not a requirement: a building outside a zone can still qualify, and one inside must still meet the law's vacant-and-abandoned test.

Are Opportunity Zones changing?

Yes. Under IRS Notice 2026-40, the 2018 designations run through December 31, 2028 (December 31, 2027 in Puerto Rico), and a new round of zones takes effect on January 1, 2027, and runs through December 31, 2036, with new zones designated every 10 years. Governors began nominating the new zones in 2026.

Sources

More on the law: The ROAD to Housing Act explained · Environmental review changes · CDBG and HOME changes · The Innovation Fund · Innovation Fund reforms, city by city · The Build Now Act · Manufactured housing and the chassis rule · Chassis-free manufactured homes by state · RESIDE Act funding status · How RESIDE grants should be sized · The ban on large investors buying homes