By Jim Tankersley, March 17, 2019 – The NY Times

AVONDALE, Ariz. — A hotel groundbreaking ceremony here in an old cotton field not far from Interstate 10 last month featured two United States senators, a hot catered lunch and a stream of speeches about driving economic investment to this corner of the Southwest that is still recovering from the Great Recession.

Whether they were celebrating the beginnings of a wave of investment in distressed parts of America, or just another Marriott property, could hinge on a coming decision by the Trump administration.

A new batch of tax regulations from the Treasury Department will establish the most comprehensive guidelines yet for what sorts of investments qualify for tax benefits associated with opportunity zones, which were created by the 2017 tax law, and how investors must proceed in order to take advantage of them.