Opportunity Zones

Driving Investment, Fueling Growth in Greater Palm Springs

Greater Palm Springs is home to several federally designated Opportunity Zones, areas created to drive economic growth by offering significant tax incentives to investors. These zones encourage long-term private investment in underserved communities, helping to create jobs, revitalize neighborhoods, and expand economic opportunity throughout the Coachella Valley.

The region’s Opportunity Zones offer unique advantages for developers, entrepreneurs, and businesses seeking to grow in high-potential areas. To explore specific locations and learn more about available incentives, view Riverside County’s Opportunity Zones site.

Riverside County Opportunity Zone Interactive Map

View the Map

Where to Invest in Greater Palm Springs

These cities are actively encouraging Opportunity Fund investments and are ready to assist developers and entrepreneurs looking to launch or expand in the fastest growing region in California:

Cathedral City
Contact: Erick Becerril, Economic Development Manager

Desert Hot Springs
Contact: Doria Wilms, City Manager
View Opportunity Zone details

Indio
Contact: Miguel Ramirez-Cornejo
View Opportunity Zone details

How Opportunity Zones Work

Created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Opportunity Zones provide preferential tax treatment to investors who reinvest capital gains into Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) - entities established to invest in designated Opportunity Zone properties or businesses.

Key benefits include:

Tax Deferral: Investors can defer capital gains taxes until the earlier of the date on which an investment is sold or exchanged, or December 31, 2026, if those gains are reinvested in a QOF. (there are ongoing efforts to extend the 2026 deadline)
Tax-Free Appreciation: If the investment is held in the Opportunity Fund for at least 10 years, investors would be eligible for an increase in basis equal to the fair market value of the investment on the date that the investment is sold or exchanged
Flexible Investment Vehicles: The IRS defines these funds as “an investment vehicle that is set up as either a partnership or corporation for investing in eligible property that is located in an Opportunity Zone and that utilizes the investor’s gains from a prior investment for funding the Opportunity Fund.”