The new Opportunity Zone map, and what it changes for downtown conversions

On November 5, 2026, Treasury and the IRS announced the census tracts that will be Opportunity Zones from January 1, 2027. The RESIDE Act tells HUD to give priority to conversion grants in those zones, so the new map changes which buildings carry that priority. We checked every building screened on this site against both maps.

Checked against the enacted text of Public Law 119-101 · Updated November 10, 2026

At a glance

What happened: Treasury and the IRS designated 6,576 census tracts as Opportunity Zones, effective January 1, 2027, for ten years.
The old map: Under IRS Notice 2026-40, the 2018 zones remain in effect through December 31, 2028.
The overlap: In 2027 and 2028 both maps apply. From 2029, only the 2027 map counts.
Why it matters: The RESIDE Act lists Opportunity Zones among four priorities for its conversion grants, and Section 201 of the ROAD to Housing Act lets HUD favor housing grants in them. The pilot runs in fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
On this site: 84 of 656 screened conversion candidates sit in a zone on at least one map.

What changed on November 5

Opportunity Zones began with 2018 designations under section 1400Z-1 of the Internal Revenue Code. A 2025 tax law made the program permanent, with new designations every ten years. Governors nominated tracts during 2026, and on November 5 Treasury and the IRS announced the designated tracts. HUD’s map layer of the designations counts 620 designated tracts in California, 91 in Colorado, 104 in Massachusetts and 218 in Pennsylvania, the four states in this study.

The new zones take effect January 1, 2027, and run through December 31, 2036. The 2018 zones do not end at the same moment: IRS Notice 2026-40 keeps them in effect through December 31, 2028. For two years, a tract can be a zone on the old map, the new map or both.

What it means for RESIDE grants

The RESIDE Act directs HUD to 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 easing conversion. 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.

The pilot can run in fiscal years 2027 through 2031, but as of October 28, 2026, Congress had appropriated no money for it and HUD had published no funding notice (see RESIDE Act funding status). If grants are awarded in 2027 or 2028, a building in a zone on either map sits in a designated zone. Awards from 2029 on would depend on the 2027 map alone.

Five cities, two maps

Screened conversion candidates in a designated Opportunity Zone, by map

City	Screened	2018 map	2027 map	On both	2018 only	2027 only
San Jose	47	42	11	8	34	3
Denver	208	0	0	0	0	0
Philadelphia	100	11	2	0	11	2
Boston	96	0	12	0	0	12
San Francisco	205	0	14	0	0	14

San Jose. Of the 47 buildings screened in Downtown San Jose, 42 sit in a zone on the 2018 map and 11 on the 2027 map. That includes 8 on both maps. Another 34 are in a 2018 zone only, so their zone status ends after 2028. The other 3 on the 2027 map gain zone status for the first time on January 1, 2027, in 2 tracts. Of the 10 that pencil in our model only with an assumed RESIDE grant, at market values, all 10 are in a 2018 zone and 4 in a 2027 one.

Denver. None of the 208 buildings screened in Greater Downtown Denver sits in a zone on either map.

Philadelphia. Of the 100 buildings screened in Center City Philadelphia, 11 sit in a zone on the 2018 map and 2 on the 2027 map. All 11 in 2018 zones fall outside the 2027 map, so their zone status ends after 2028. Both on the 2027 map gain zone status for the first time on January 1, 2027, in one tract.

Boston. Of the 96 buildings screened in Downtown Boston, none sit in a zone on the 2018 map and 12 on the 2027 map. All 12 on the 2027 map gain zone status for the first time on January 1, 2027, in one tract. Of the 8 that pencil in our model only with an assumed RESIDE grant, at market values, none are in a 2018 zone and 1 in a 2027 one.

San Francisco. Of the 205 buildings screened in Downtown San Francisco, none sit in a zone on the 2018 map and 14 on the 2027 map. All 14 on the 2027 map gain zone status for the first time on January 1, 2027, in 4 tracts. Of the 92 that pencil in our model only with an assumed RESIDE grant, at market values, none are in a 2018 zone and 7 in a 2027 one.

The candidates are what each city’s screen takes in, which differs by city: commercial buildings in San Jose, commercial and public buildings in Denver, office-linked buildings in Philadelphia, office-linked buildings in Boston and office buildings in San Francisco. Each one with its own page shows its standing on both maps, labeled by year, with the dates each one counts.

How we checked

Each screened building is placed by its map point in the city’s data and checked against two HUD map layers, one for the 2018 designations and one for the 2027 designations. The 2018 map uses 2010 census tracts and the 2027 map uses 2020 tracts, so the same tract number can describe a different area on each. HUD’s 2027 layer marks 6,575 designated tracts against Treasury’s announced 6,576; its totals match for the four states in this study.

Location is not the only test. A building that straddles a tract boundary needs checking by hand, and Section 201 also reaches projects that “substantially and directly benefit” a zone. See the Opportunity Zones guide for how Section 201 and the RESIDE priority work.

Questions

Does the 2018 Opportunity Zone map still count?

Yes. Under IRS Notice 2026-40, the 2018 designations remain in effect through December 31, 2028 (December 31, 2027 in Puerto Rico).

When do the 2027 Opportunity Zones take effect?

On January 1, 2027. They run through December 31, 2036, and new zones are designated every ten years.

Does being in an Opportunity Zone make a building eligible for a RESIDE grant?

No. Opportunity Zones are one of four priorities HUD must give weight to in RESIDE awards. A building outside a zone can still qualify, and one inside a zone must still meet the law's vacant-and-abandoned test.

Is my building in a 2027 Opportunity Zone?

Each screened building with its own page on this site shows its standing on both maps, labeled by year. For any other address, the CDFI Fund publishes the designated tracts and a map.

Sources

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