Rossville, GA – The City of Rossville will receive assistance from the State of Georgia to lure more private investment into its downtown.  The Georgia Department of Community Affairs and the Georgia Department of Economic Development recently designated Rossville as a “Rural Zone,” establishing a portfolio of tax incentives for new investors and business owners.  Only seven communities statewide received Rural Zone status.

Rossville applied for the highly competitive designation for its downtown commercial/industrial core as a means to drive private investment into the city, and put vacant buildings back into dynamic use.  “We currently have nearly 2 million square feet of vacant space available for purchase or redevelopment in a prime location with access to 10 Gig fiber optic internet,” said Elizabeth Wells, Rossville’s Economic & Community Development Consultant.

Starting January 1, 2020, businesses and investors will be able to obtain a threefold tax credit per newly purchased parcel for acquisition of real estate, rehabilitation of property and job creation in the Rural Zone.  The designated area includes a cluster of 83 contiguous parcels in a location of the city ripe for redevelopment, and is included within the area that has just undergone an extensive planning processes culminating in an Urban Redevelopment Plan.

“We believe this tax credit incentive layers advantageously over our Federal Opportunity Zone (OZ) to help drive new capital investment into Rossville,” added Wells.  “For the first time in our city’s history, we now have multiple robust incentive programs to motivate private real estate investors and OZ fund managers to be a part of our large-scale revitalization effort.  We are committed to making these two programs work powerfully together for our community.”

Rossville received OZ status last year.  The bipartisan supported program provides federal tax benefits to investors who use capital gains for economic development and job creation in low income census tracts across the U.S.