INCENTIVES 

The Opportunity Zone incentive is just one incentive that can contribute to the success of a project. Below are some other local, state, and federal incentives that could potentially be used in conjunction with Opportunity Zones. Using multiple incentive programs can help make you project even more attractive to investors! Please contact the following agencies to see if their incentives could work for your project.

Local Incentives: 

Pueblo Urban Renewal

Urban Renewal Districts exist within portions of the following Opportunity Zones:

  • Downtown
  • Corona Park
  • Evraz Industrial District
  • Lake Minnequa

Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority offers funding tools for public infrastructure, environmental remediation, and other public amenities for development projects within Urban Renewal Districts.

  • Bonding and upfront financing, for infrastructure, is available for qualified development projects.
  • Reimbursement of tax increments, generated by the project, may be available to the developer.

Pueblo’s job training program includes pre-employment training of primary and/or training of primary job workers upon first being hired.

Sales and Use Tax Capital Improvement Projects Fund

Companies, whose projects meet certain requirements as provided for in Ordinance No. 6381 as amended, may be eligible for various incentives through the Sales and Use Tax Improvement Projects Fund.


City Development Incentives

The incentives offered will be determined on a project-by-project basis and may include the following: 

  •  Utility Tap Rebate Program
  •  Property Tax Rebate Program (Not Applicable within Urban Renewal Areas)
  •  Stormwater Utility Fee Rebate
  •  City Financial Incentive Program for Job Creating Projects
  •  City Sales and Use Tax Capital Improvement Fund
  •  Tax Increment Financing
  •  Tax Exempt Private Activity Bonds
  •  Streamlined Development Approvals
  •  Community Development Block Grant Infrastructure Improvements (Qualifying Neighborhoods Only)
  •  HOME Investment Partnership Program
  • Affordable Housing Land Bank Program

Custom Workforce Training

  • Pueblo Corporate College provides professional and technical training programs customized for your business. Whether you manage a small business or a large corporation Pueblo Corporate College offers organizational training for all your employees based on their diverse needs and your specific goals.  Pueblo Corporate College also understands that to succeed the people in your organization must continue to grow and learn. Our talented team brings a wealth of experience to the table to help solve organizational challenges.  Our solutions based approach helps you train and retain a skilled and motivated workforce.
  • Programs are delivered either at your company facility or at one of the Pueblo Community College or Southwest Colorado Community College campuses. Clients turn to us for training solutions to meet strategic business goals and consulting solutions to improve individual, team and organizational performance.


State Incentives: 

Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit:

The performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit provides a state income tax credit to businesses undertaking job creation projects that would not occur in Colorado without this program.

Strategic Fund Incentive:

The Strategic Fund Incentive program supports and encourages new business development, business expansions andre locations that have generated new jobs throughout the state. In some cases, the Strategic Fund may also be able to provide support for initiatives lead by non-profit entities pertaining to key industries or regional development.

Job Training Grant Programs FIRST/ Existing Industry Customized Training Programs

These programs increase transferable job skills that support both the company’s economic competitiveness and enhance worker’s resumes and long-term employment opportunities.

Advanced Industry Investment Tax Credit:

The Colorado Advanced Industry Investment Tax Credit helps Colorado advanced industry companies receive more capital from Colorado investors. Colorado’s seven advanced industries are Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Bioscience, Electronics, Energy/Natural Resources/Cleantech, Infrastructure Engineering, and Technology & Information.

Pueblo Enterprise Zone Tax Credits

Businesses located within the approved Zone are eligible for a variety of State tax credits. Access a detailed list and an interactive map to determine if your business is located within the Pueblo Enterprise Zone, choosecolorado.com/ez.

Preservation Tax Credits

In July 2015, the State of Colorado offered a new tax credit for the rehabilitation of qualified historic buildings.  This credit expands and improves upon the original rehabilitation tax credit that has been on the books since 1990.  The new program creates two sources of financial incentives:

  • Residential
  • Commercial

Federal and state tax laws provide tax incentives for historic preservation projects that follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.  These credits allow taxpayers to reduce, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the amount of income tax they owe to the government.  The amount of credit that can be obtained is calculated as a percentage of the overall rehabilitation costs associated with the project.

C-PACE

Colorado C-PACE is a financing tool that allows commercial and multifamily property owners to finance qualifying energy efficiency, water conservation, and other clean energy improvements on existing and newly constructed properties, with repayment of the financing through a voluntary assessment on their property tax bill. The primary website for Colorado C-PACE is: copace.com.


Federal Incentives:

New Market Tax Credit

Incentivizes business and real estate investment in low-income communities of the United States via a federal tax credit. The program is administered by the US Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund and allocated by local Community Development Entities (CDEs) across the United States.

Low Income Housing Tax Credits

Created by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the LIHTC program gives State and local LIHTC-allocating agencies the equivalent of nearly $8 billion in annual budget authority to issue tax credits for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction of rental housing targeted to lower-income households.

Economic Development Administration

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), a bureau within the U.S. Department of Commerce provides grant funding that prepares American regions for economic growth and success in the worldwide economy. Southern Colorado Economic Development District (SCEDD), a regional non-profit organization funded by EDA, assists local governments in applying for and securing these grants to provide funding for public infrastructure to support projects that create well-paying private sector jobs. These grants, typically in amounts up to $3 million, can fund water and sewer improvements, roads,bridges, rail, broadband, and more. A local match of 20 to 50 percent (dependent on regional demographics) is required.

Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit

Otherwise known as the Historic Tax Credit, the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit is one of the most powerful historic preservation tools we have. Recognizing the cost associated with rehabilitating historic buildings, the Historic Tax Credit provides a 20% income tax credit to developers of income producing properties such as office buildings, retail establishments, rental apartments, and others. This is a federal tax credit that encourages employers to hire targeted groups of job seekers. WOTC can reduce employer federal tax liability by as much as $2,400 to $9, 600 per new hire. You must apply for and receive certification from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment WOTC Unit, verifying that any new hire is a member of a WOTC target group before you can claim WOTC on the federal tax return. This must be done within 28 days of the new hire’s start date.
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)