Gov. Bob Ferguson has nominated 16 census tracts across six South King County communities for a federal program intended to attract private investment through tax incentives, according to Washington State Department of Commerce records.
The nominations include areas in Burien, Des Moines, Kent, SeaTac, Tukwila and White Center. They are part of 99 nominations statewide submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department for the Opportunity Zones 2.0 program.
“Washington is a great place to do business,” Ferguson said in the state’s announcement. “Opportunity Zones help shine a light on communities that have great potential for investors.”
The announcement does not award money to the nominated communities or guarantee investment. Instead, the program encourages investors, developers and financial institutions to finance businesses and real estate development in designated areas in exchange for federal tax benefits.
Treasury will review and certify the nominations. The new designations are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Commerce led months of public outreach and planning involving community members, business leaders and Washington’s 29 federally recognized tribes. The state selected the 99 nominated areas from 152 applications, according to the announcement.
The nominations span 27 counties and 17 tribal lands. Of the selected areas, 36 represent opportunities in rural communities.
“We started by listening to communities about their strengths, their ambitions, and what they need to grow,” said Sarah Clifthorne, interim director of Commerce.
The first Opportunity Zones program began in 2018, when Washington nominated 139 areas across 36 counties. According to the state’s announcement, investments associated with that first round are estimated to have exceeded $100 billion nationwide, reaching more than 5,600 neighborhoods. That national estimate does not represent funding allocated to Washington or the newly nominated local tracts.
Congress updated the program in 2025, establishing a recurring 10-year designation cycle and adding reporting requirements intended to better measure its economic effects.
The state acknowledged that the number of specific jobs and investments generated by the original program remains unclear. The new reporting requirements are intended to improve transparency and also apply to active funds operating in the original zones.
Existing Opportunity Zone designations will remain active through Dec. 31, 2028, overlapping with the new program. Once certified, the Opportunity Zones 2.0 designations will remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2036.
Details on the local nominations and proposed uses are listed in the table below.
| COMMUNITY OR AREA | CENSUS TRACT ID | PROPOSED USES AND ANTICIPATED BENEFITS |
|---|---|---|
| Burien: Downtown | 53033027902 | Mixed-use housing and commercial space, an international public market and a planned Sea Mar behavioral health clinic. Approximately 300 housing units are in the development pipeline, more than 20% affordable. |
| Burien: Mary’s Place site | 53033027600 | A Mary’s Place and Mercy Housing Northwest campus with 200 emergency shelter beds and 90 permanently affordable apartments. At least 30 apartments would be reserved for families transitioning out of homelessness. Completion is anticipated in 2027. |
| Des Moines: Pacific Highway South and Pacific Ridge | 53033028902 | Housing near transit and commercial development, including hospitality, retail, warehousing, light assembly and health care facilities. Hundreds of new housing units are anticipated. |
| Kent: Kent Des Moines Station area | 53033029004 | Mixed-use development on Sound Transit surplus land and nearby properties. Potential to unlock more than 550 housing units in a permitted development, along with eventual redevelopment of former landfill property. |
| Kent: Downtown industrial site | 53033029701 | A proposed Mortenson development on more than nine acres, offering more than 300,000 square feet of manufacturing space for aerospace or another advanced manufacturing business. Hundreds of jobs are anticipated. |
| Kent: Kent Station and Mill Creek Middle School area | 53033029203 | Mixed-use workforce housing, early learning and after-school centers, safer pedestrian connections and potential expansion of a Mexican and Latin foods grocery store. |
| Kent Valley: Industrial area | 53033029206 | Manufacturing and aerospace expansion, industrial redevelopment, small business support, battery storage and freight electrification infrastructure. Nearly 800 workforce housing units are identified. |
| Kent: East Hill former Fred Meyer site | 53033029505 | Redevelopment of the nearly 13-acre former retail property, with potential for more than 200 affordable homeownership opportunities. |
| SeaTac: Northern area | 53033028100 | African Diaspora Housing, development of the Port of Seattle’s “L-Shape” property and other housing parcels. Plans identify 200 workforce housing units and more than 500 anticipated jobs. |
| SeaTac: Airport and SeaTac Central area | 53033028402 | Airport-related employment, housing near the airport job center, development near transit and improved multimodal connections. |
| SeaTac: East of the airport | 53033028403 | Airport-related business space, redevelopment of vacant or underused properties, a project identified as Patterson Place and a brewery taproom described as a FIFA activation project with longer-term plans. |
| SeaTac: Angle Lake Station area | 53033028802 | A 726-unit Synergy Construction development, additional housing near transit, civic campus improvements and a child care center. The broader station area pipeline includes more than 2,500 housing units, including the identified development. |
| Tukwila: Northern area | 53033027200 | Multifamily housing, transitional housing and community facilities, including further investment following community organizations’ reuse of an old casino and motel. |
| Tukwila: Light rail and Tukwila International Boulevard area | 53033028200 | Multifamily housing near transit and public services. Three identified projects need financing assistance; the application describes capacity for thousands of additional housing units. |
| Tukwila and Renton: Southcenter and Longacres area | 53033026200 | Medical facilities, housing and mixed-use redevelopment, including proposed Longacres projects, a Seattle Children’s Hospital campus and a PMB outpatient medical facility. The application describes broader capacity for more than 25,000 additional jobs and 5,000 housing units. |
| White Center | 53033026500 | Affordable housing, commercial redevelopment and small business investment. Three commercial areas and several multifamily neighborhoods are identified as having redevelopment potential. |
