The owner of two buildings in downtown Oak Harbor is hoping that a federal program can help revitalize the area.
Sarah Schacht accidentally found out about Opportunity Zones at a conference in San Francisco last fall. The program is designed to spur economic growth in distressed communities by giving investors tax breaks and deferments.
Schacht checked an online map of Opportunity Zones across the nation and found that one was in Oak Harbor and included the downtown area, as well as a large triangle of land to the north. Her properties are within the zone.
Schacht sees opportunity for the entire area.
“I really tried to look at it through the lens of how can it be used to help downtown, bring in more housing and fulfill some of the community’s other needs,” she said.
The Opportunity Zone in Oak Harbor is the only one in Island County; the boundaries follow a census tract.
Schacht is concerned that nobody seems to be aware of the program in Oak Harbor. She said other areas of the country are far ahead of the city and the state in spreading the word and educating investors.
City Administrator Blain Oborn, however, said the city government is planning a workshop on the subject as well as outreach to potential investors and property owners.
He said the city contracted with Sharon Sappington of the Island County Economic Development Council to promote and explain Opportunity Zones. Oborn said an important component of the outreach is to aid investors in finding experts to help with the IRS paperwork. Fliers will be sent out soon, he said.
The goal of the program is to spur investment in both new businesses and housing. Those who invest in a zone can get breaks on capital gains taxes.
Schacht said she spent a lot of time at her family’s downtown business, Casual House, when she was growing up in Oak Harbor.
One of the buildings Schacht owns once belonged to her grandparents, John and Myrtle Allgire. They actually met inside the building during a World War II era USO dance, Schacht said. They went on to open Casual House, which has been a mainstay downtown for decades.
Schacht said she purchased the “Skinner building” as a way of investing in downtown Oak Harbor.
The area was designated as an Opportunity Zone because the federal government classifies it as economically distressed.
Enterprise’s Opportunity 360 measurement report on Oak Harbor included scores on different factors that are considered key to economic success.
The city scored especially low in economic security and mobility. The study noted that the median household income for the region is $60,000, which has decreased over the last 20 years. It states that very few people in the area use public transportation.
In addition, housing was described as a concern, especially related to a mismatch between what people earn and what they pay for housing.
