Several hundred Opportunity Zone professionals networked and learned during a successful Opportunity Zone Expo in Denver on July 15-16.

Keynote speaker Colorado Governor Jared Polis congratulated the Top 25 OZ Influencers of 2020, who were recognized with awards during a VIP keynote luncheon. He also applauded the competitors of the America’s Top Project competition for providing economic development around the country.

“America’s Top Projects help Colorado and our entire country recover faster, build investment and grow,” he said during his keynote speech.



Eight finalists competed for the title of America’s Top Project at the country’s largest Opportunity Zone Expo in a shark tank-style competition. The inaugural competition brought together visionary entrepreneurs from California, New York, Illinois, Texas and Colorado.

The finalists took turns pitching their projects in the “Cougar Cage” as Governor Polis affectionally called it - to be poked, prodded and battle-tested by an esteemed panel of well-respected OZ judges that included Shay Hawkins, DJ Van Keuren, Chris Loeffler, Eric Kaplan and Nicole Frazier. All entrants are worthy of praise, but only two could emerge from the carnage with the respective titles of America’s Top Project and America’s Most Impactful Project.

As it turns out, the field was so full of quality that the judges selected three winners. For America’s Most Impactful Project – an honor placing emphasis on the social good elements of an OZ project over its bottom line and ROI – the judges declared a tie between contestants Eagle OZ (Chicago, IL) and Sandstone Partners (Hudson, NY). The former pitched a massive set of mixed-use land renovation and underserved communities engagement projects across Chicago’s historic Bronzeville district; the latter pitched plans to build The McKinstry, a modern retro-chic bed-and-breakfast and event venue to serve as an economic engine and job creator for several quiet towns nestled amongst the natural beauty of rural upstate New York.

America’s Top Project award went to Inyoag OZ (Darwin, CA), whose CEO Jack Stone pitched the revival of a dormant yet potentially lucrative large-scale mining operation in an unincorporated community on the edge of Death Valley National Park. A beneficiary of manufacturing booms during World Wars I and II, the 1050-acre Darwin mine had produced hundreds of millions in mineral extraction value from the time the Hearst/Rockefeller families launched it in 1860 until its closure in 1984. Stone wowed the judge panel with a presentation that emphasized the project as a turnkey opportunity with over $28 million in required infrastructure work ($920 million in present-day construction cost) already completed and an assessed project value of $15.6 billion. Subsequent investment would thus be expected to yield first-year revenues of $52 million, a 5-year EBITDA of $193 million and a 10-year ROI of 39%, as well as an enormous social impact footprint combining the thousands of mining industry jobs created with the commerce, education, civic growth and goodwill benefits of Darwin returning to the booming industrial town of 5,000-plus residents it was at the height of its yesteryear glory.

Other competitors included: the Relevant Group, Reliable One Resources, Company of Nomads, Veterans Victory and ELITE Opportunity Fund.



More than 30 distinguished speakers also shared their insight in seven educational panels, moderated by industry key players.

The two-day event in Denver followed the success of the company's sold-out conference series and included participants such as fund managers, attorneys, real estate developers, tax specialists, investment banks, investors and government officials. It highlighted the success of the Opportunity Zone tax incentive. Governor Polis talked about the benefits of the program. 

“We really see Opportunity Zone investments as an important part to powering the come back here in Colorado and nationally,” he said. “We have the third most per capital OZ investments in the country but we won’t rest until we are first.”

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