Today Citi announced the launch of City Builder by Citi, a data-driven, web-based platform that seamlessly aggregates information about U.S. Opportunity Zones.
The site aims to increase transparency and access to information in order to help investors, fund managers, developers, municipalities and community members work together on community development projects.
Established by Congress through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones were designed to spark job creation and ignite development in urban and rural areas that would benefit from additional investment. Across America, over 8,700 census tracts have been designated as Opportunity Zones, places where private investors can receive capital gains tax deferments by serving public interests and stimulating new business.
Today, extensive data on urban areas exists in disparate locations across public records. City Builder is one of the first platforms designed to provide an intuitive, comprehensive view into communities to help take the guesswork out of place-based investing.
“City Builder addresses multiple needs. Investors can use it to make a positive impact, while cities receive an influx of capital, and by addressing each community’s specific needs, residents become the ultimate and largest beneficiaries,” said Valla Vakili, Managing Director & Head of Studio at Citi Ventures.
With the City Builder platform, anyone can easily find and share information among potential partners. The site’s functionality allows users to
Explore Opportunity Zones to analyze and compare the unique characteristics of Opportunity Zones across the country, including population, demographics, education, land usage, mobility scores, and more.
Identify community needs by understanding the priorities of residents like affordable housing, food access, job creation, youth services, pedestrian amenities, and plumbing facilities.
Find Qualified Opportunity Funds actively seeking capital to gain insights into their investment and geographic focuses.
The City Builder platform is accessible at no cost via https://citi.com/citybuilder. At launch, the platform supplies data and insights from nine cites: Chicago, Ill.; Columbia, S.C.; Detroit, Mich.; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, Calif.; Louisville, Ky.; New York, N.Y.; Newark, N.J.; and Providence, R.I. In the coming months, City Builder will continue to add cities, expanding the site’s scope across the country to impact as many communities as possible.