By Rodger Morrow for Beaver County Business
Listen to a podcast discussion about this article.
It’s said that opportunity knocks but once. Beaver County, never fond of clichés, now has the chance—or the burden—of proving that ancient bromide wrong. With Washington making the Opportunity Zone program permanent and setting up a new round of designations for 2027, we’re getting a second knock. The question is whether we’ll answer it with more than polite applause.
Why Permanence Matters
Redeveloping old industrial ground isn’t a sprint. Brownfields don’t bloom in a season, and training pipelines don’t fill in a single grant cycle. Permanence gives investors a ten-year horizon—the time it takes to turn a shuttered mill into a logistics hub or a tired riverfront into manufacturing space.
For Beaver County, permanence means our four zones still matter. We can court investors who think long-term instead of quick-flip, and even when the map changes in 2027, the program itself stays put.
Where Are Beaver County’s Zones?
Beaver County has four Opportunity Zones today: two in Beaver Falls (census tracts 42007601200 and 42007601300), one in Aliquippa (42007605700), and a fourth elsewhere in the county that doesn’t always show up neatly in summaries. Together, they give us both urban grit and industrial ground—plenty to market to anyone with patient capital.
Tighter Rules, Sharper Focus
The new law ends the old parlor trick of nominating “contiguous” tracts that looked more like golf resorts than distressed communities. Now a tract must truly be low-income—generally at or below 70 percent of median family income.
Nationwide, one in five zones may vanish in the redesignation. That stings in some places, but it sharpens the spotlight on communities like ours, where the need is obvious and the potential tangible.
A Level Playing Field
Transparency is another gift. Funds must report where their money goes and what it accomplishes. No more smoke-and-mirror ribbon-cuttings. If Beaver County delivers real jobs and redevelopment, the data will show it—and strengthen our case for future investment.
And tucked inside the bill are sweeteners for rural funds, nudging capital beyond the big metros. For once, Western Pennsylvania competes on something closer to even footing.
What It Means for Us
- Industry: Permanence lets manufacturers and logistics firms bet big without worrying the tax break will vanish mid-project.
- Riverfronts: Aliquippa and Beaver Falls can pitch their sites not just as cheap land but as long-term Opportunity investments.
- Small Business: Every OZ project spins off work for contractors, suppliers, and service firms—the kind of payrolls that stick.
The Work Ahead
Between now and July 2026, our task is to line up the story: inventory sites, sort out utilities, and settle priorities before Harrisburg starts nominating tracts. Investors like certainty; if we can show it, we’ll be ready when the new map takes effect in 2027.
The Upshot
For Beaver County, the One Big Beautiful Bill isn’t just another Trumpian trope. It’s a sturdy foundation for rebuilding an economy that once made glass, steel, and paychecks by the ton.
Now we have the chance to do it again—with capital that plans to stay.
