Pretty generous - the criteria in the regulations are that it be 80% vacant (by square footage or acreage) for one year or more. This period extends to three years or more if the vacancy arose after the corresponding census tract was designated as a Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ). There are also special rules for Brownfield sites and property condemned or seized by the government.
In order for vacant property to be considered original use property in an Opportunity Zone, the property must have been vacant for an uninterrupted period of at least three calendar years or, if the property was vacant prior to the date the applicable OZ was designated as an OZ, an uninterrupted period of at least one calendar year. In either case, the property must have remained vacant through the date that the QOF/QOZB purchases it. For this purpose, a property is "vacant" if more than 80 percent of the property, as measured by the square footage of usable space, is not used.
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