108 OPPORTUNITY ZONE MAGAZINE | ISSUE 2 • VOLUME 2
I just wish Opportunity Zones are going to be extended for a longer time because it has a timeframe of six years right now . The extension will help us in our future projects , to expand faster and deploy .
ready to lend us , but we are interested to have more equity participation because our goal is to set up a chain and set up a system … the building that we have in escrow is worth at least $ 40 million today whereas we created a deal for $ 10 million . And the moment we run this show , we are almost going to double up the whole value within two to three years ; 20 million will become at least $ 40 million to $ 50 million in year , in third year .
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON YOUR BUSINESS STRATEGY ?
Gurjeet : We are taking the pandemic very seriously , which is going to be there in many , many different forms . In fact , one of the most affected areas were assisted living during the pandemic and that is our main concern . The pandemic was an incentive and reason we got into it is because old facilities cannot change everything inside the system , and that is why we are setting up new systems .
Sergey : The pandemic was one of the reasons we wanted to create new level facilities , which is going to help older people
become more protected .
WHAT ARE SOME CURRENT TRENDS YOU ' RE SEEING IN THE OZ MARKET THAT MIGHT HAVE AN IMPACT ON YOUR PROJECT ?
G u r j e e t : Most OZ projects are apartment buildings , commercial spaces or hotels that are purely focused on making profits and pulling in the tax money , capital gains , whereas our project not only helps investors in investing capital gains , but there is a human touch that is about taking care of seniors who really need the care . In terms of impact , our project is unique .
Sergey : I just wish Opportunity Zones are going to be extended for a longer time because it has a timeframe of six years right now . The extension will help us in our future projects , to expand faster and deploy . What ' s happening right now in OZ is that there is a lot of capital gains , especially in 2021 when the stock market was booming . Many investors are looking for good projects to invest in and to offset their capital gain with a new good investment project .
HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK THE OPPORTUNITY ZONES ARE FOR ACCOMPLISHING GOALS IN DISTRESSED AREAS ?
Sergey : Many areas benefit a lot by being an opportunity zones since it ' s attractive for the investors and it ’ s attractive for the development . It brings serious benefits in different ways like more work and more jobs . For example , in just one of our facilities , we will create 100 jobs .
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP BUSINESS GOALS FOR 2022 ?
Sergey : For 2022 , our top business goal is our project , to get it done , raise the money with the investors and make all necessary improvements to the building and start operating next year . We are also working to acquire several different facilities , and hopefully in 2022 , we can bring several good projects for the investors to consider , not only this one but several other facilities in the different states of the U . S . … We have another facility in Portland , Oregon , which we are finalizing the deal on right now .
Gurjeet : We want to get this project done as fast as possible and start earning revenue . We are excited to do this project … this land is not just in an OZ , but in an USDA zone which can lend up to 90 % for projects like ours , so as I ’ ve said our goals are to have investors on board , become our partners for the long haul . We want to expand one project per year as per our business plan .
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Congratulations James O . Lang an Opportunity Zone Magazine “ Top 25 Opportunity Zone Attorney ”
James Lang focuses his tax and project finance practice on tax incentive programs , Qualified Opportunity Zones , Qualified Opportunity Fund financing , tax credits , and related state and federal incentive programs .
Jim and others at GT represent funds , investors , lenders , community development entities , and for-profit and not-for-profit project sponsors in complex transactions where capital stacks require enhancement through incentive financing , including Qualified Opportunity Zone incentives .
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