New tool to attract private investments in economically-distressed areas

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney announced on Thursday a new interactive website highlighting Delaware’s Opportunity Zones across the state. Opportunity Zones are an economic development tool designed to attract private investment and create economic opportunity in economically-distressed communities across Delaware.

In April 2018, Governor Carney announced 25 census tracts as Opportunity Zones in which communities and economically-distressed properties across Delaware could see additional private sector investment. These Opportunity Zones were designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Private investments in Opportunity Zones may qualify for tax incentives.

“Strengthening neighborhoods and communities across Delaware helps improve our economy, stabilize families, and make our state an even better place to live, work and visit,” said Governor Carney. “This Opportunity Zones resource highlights the options in Delaware for additional private investment in areas where it can have the most impact – in economically-distressed communities.”

The interactive website also features a visual StoryMap for visitors to explore Delaware’s Opportunity Zones and learn more about project sites. The website was developed in collaboration with the Office of the Governor, the Delaware Division of Small Business, the Office of State Planning Coordination, the Government Information Center, and the Delaware Prosperity Partnership.

“Opportunity Zones are going to help expand the amount of available capital for developers and businesses, providing them with the resources they need to be successful,” said Damian DeStefano, Director of the Division of Small Business. “We look forward to helping entrepreneurs access Opportunity Zones, especially as a way to help strengthen the state’s downtowns.”

Delaware’s Opportunity Zone tracts include neighborhoods in Wilmington; properties along the Route 9 Corridor in New Castle; areas in Dover, Milford, Georgetown, and Seaford, including the Seaford Nylon Capital Shopping Center; the STAR campus in Newark; and aging industrial sites along the Delaware River in northern New Castle County that are eligible for additional development and cleanup under the Coastal Zone Act.

“Delaware features a tremendous range of Opportunity Zones statewide. These designated areas provide truly attractive investment opportunities that both can benefit investors and build or enhance more vibrant communities,” explained Delaware Prosperity Partnership President Kurt Foreman.

Many of the designated Opportunity Zone tracts are located within Downtown Development Districts, where investors may already qualify for state investment rebates, local tax abatements, affordable bridge loans, and other state and local incentives. Since the downtown program launched in 2015, roughly $24 million in state-funded investment rebates has leveraged $420 million of additional public and private investment in Dover, Georgetown, Harrington, Laurel, Milford, Seaford, Smyrna and Wilmington. Governor Carney’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget included an additional $8.5 million for the program.

The new website also will serve as a resource for the upcoming Opportunity Zone Summit on December 5 at the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus. The Summit, hosted in partnership with the Biden Institute and the Office of the Governor, will engage government officials, developers, investors and business leaders in discussions about Delaware’s Opportunity Zones.

Attendees can register for the summit by clicking here.

###

Refundable tax credit to encourage job creation, innovation

WILMINGTON, Del. – Qualified investors and high-tech small businesses can now make use of Delaware’s newest program aimed at encouraging job creation and innovation.

The Delaware Division of Small Business began Thursday accepting certification applications for the Angel Investor Tax Credit (AITC) at www.business.delaware.gov/incentives.

“We are excited to have the Angel Investor program up and running,” said Governor John Carney. “Now the state’s most cutting-edge small businesses can connect with much needed sources of capital investment. The influx of funds Angel Investor will create will help these companies and Delaware’s new economy to grow.”

Once a business or investor has submitted a certification application, the Division begins its review process. In January, certified companies and investors will be able to submit credit allocation requests.

“Angel Investor is a great way for the state to spur economic development and another useful tool for our Division as we work to help small businesses succeed in Delaware,” said Damian DeStefano, Director of the Division of Small Business.

The AITC is a refundable tax credit worth up to 25 percent of the investment in a qualified, Delaware-based company. Those businesses must pay decent wages, employ fewer than 25 people and engage in innovation in one of several areas as its primary business activity. More information on investor and business qualifications is also available at www.business.delaware.gov/incentives.

“Delaware’s new angel investor tax credit is a win/win for high-tech and science start-ups as well as investors. Delaware is home to some of the nation’s most innovative start-ups and now with Delaware’s new Angel Investor Tax Credit, science and high-tech entrepreneurs have even more incentive to choose Delaware to grow their businesses,” said Kurt Foreman, President and CEO of Delaware Prosperity Partnership.

“Growing entrepreneurial startups is a key success factor for the growth of the life sciences industry in Delaware,” said Helen Stimson, President and CEO of Delaware BioScience Association. “Having an Angel Investor Tax Credit program improves our competitiveness for entrepreneurial retention. Coupling the program with our unique technical grant writing support from the SBDC, and Delaware’s very attractive R&D tax credit program creates a strong value proposition for why startups should stay in Delaware.”

###

Related news:
Governor Carney Signs Angel Investor Job Creation and Innovation Act

The deadline to apply for Dover’s Unlock the Block program is fast approaching.

July 9 is the final day to put in an application for the initiative, which seeks tenants for select vacant commercial properties on or adjacent to Loockerman Street in downtown Dover.

Unlock the Block is looking for successful business owners, working from their basement or kitchen table, who want their first brick-and-mortar location or entrepreneurs who already have a location in the region and want to launch a second.

Watch a video on what makes downtown Dover a great place to open a business.

Tenants will be selected through a pitch competition on July 26, with winners announced Aug. 15.

Those selected for the program may receive a combination of financial incentives and technical assistance including fee waivers and free business consulting services.

Unlock the Block is the result of a partnership among several organizations including the Division of Small Business (Downtown Delaware program), the Downtown Dover Partnership, City of Dover, Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce, Kent Economic Partnership, First State Community Loan Fund and NCALL. It is an initiative through Restoring Central Dover, a Comprehensive Neighborhood Revitalization Plan.

For more information on the five properties available for lease through the program, visit www.downtowndoverpartnership.com.

Click here to apply for Unlock the Block.

New law establishes a refundable tax credit for qualified investors in Delaware small businesses

NEWARK, Del. – Governor John Carney on Thursday signed into law House Bill 170, the Angel Investor Job Creation and Innovation Act, at the Delaware Technology Park at the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus.

The Angel Investor Job Creation and Innovation Act establishes a refundable tax credit for qualified investors in Delaware small businesses to spur job creation and innovation. The law establishes guidelines for awarding a tax credit worth up to 25 percent of the investment in a qualified, Delaware-based small business. Businesses receiving the investment must pay decent wages, employ fewer than 25 employees, and engage in innovation in one of several areas as its primary business activity.

“We should do everything we can to support Delaware’s innovators and entrepreneurs who are leading Delaware’s new economy, and this law will help connect our most talented entrepreneurs with the resources they need to be successful,” said Governor Carney. “Delaware is already a hub of innovation, and this tax credit will help to encourage investments in innovative, Delaware-based small businesses.”

Governor Carney called for passage of the Angel Investor Job Creation and Innovation Act in his 2018 State of the State Address. The bipartisan legislation was sponsored by Representative Michael Ramone, Representative Bryon Short, Representative Melanie George Smith, and Representative Dave Wilson. Senate sponsors included Senate President Pro Tem David McBride and Senator Cathy Cloutier.

“As a prime sponsor of the Angel Investor Act, I know that by enacting this legislation we are taking a significant step in helping to strengthen Delaware’s economic development climate,” said Representative Michael Ramone. “Getting to this point today was certainly a collaborative effort by legislators, the Governor, and the small business community, and one that I believe will result in definite job growth in Delaware.”

“By encouraging investment in technology startups, Delaware is making another strategic move to enhance its economic competitiveness. It is painstaking and difficult work to advance a startup and this new program will provide an infusion of capital to businesses at a critical time,” said Representative Bryon Short. “These resources will foster innovation in our state and support entrepreneurs growing their businesses.”

“We believe that keeping innovation created in Delaware in the state is a key component of future success for the life sciences industry,” said Helen Stimson, President and CEO of Delaware BioScience Association. “We are delighted to have this new Angel Investor Tax Credit program to entice investors to support our startup companies. This benefit coupled with Delaware’s attractive R&D tax credit program provides key benefits needed to keep our innovators in the state.”

“As a longtime advocate and mentor of early stage technology-based businesses, the Angel Investor Tax Credit should be a stimulus for new investors to support entrepreneurs in Delaware,” said Michael Bowman, Associate Director of the University of Delaware’s Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships, and President of the Delaware Technology Park.

###

Details about the Angel Investor Job Creation and Innovation Act:

The Angel Investor Job Creation and Innovation Act establishes guidelines for awarding a tax credit worth up to 25 percent of the investment in a qualified, Delaware-based small business. Businesses receiving the investment must pay decent wages, employ fewer than 25 employees, and engage in innovation in one of several areas as its primary business activity. By statute, the Delaware Division of Small Business will have until November 1, 2018 to create and publish an application for small businesses looking to participate in the program in calendar year 2019.

Qualified business activities include:

• Using proprietary technology to add value to a product, process, or service in a qualified high-technology field.
• Researching or developing a proprietary product, process, or service in a qualified high-technology field.
• Researching, developing, or producing a proprietary product, process, or service in the fields of agriculture, manufacturing, wildlife preservation, environmental science, financial technology, or transportation.
• Researching, developing, or producing a new proprietary technology for use in the fields of agriculture, manufacturing, financial technology, or transportation.

WILMINGTON – You can now see Delaware like never before with a breathtaking virtual tour of the state’s endless discoveries.

At Nemours Estate Monday, as part of National Travel and Tourism Week (May 6-12), Governor John Carney, Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock and Delaware Tourism Director Liz Keller showcased the experience that takes visitors on a sweeping, 360-degree journey of Delaware.

The virtual reality tour includes the experience of canoeing through Trap Pond State Park, strolling the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk and walking the lavish grounds of Nemours Estate.

The tour is another exciting tool for the Delaware Tourism Office to introduce Delaware to potential out-of-state visitors. It is available to view at VisitDelaware.com to spark travelers’ inspiration as they plan their trips.

“With the launch of this new virtual tour, the Delaware Tourism Office is embracing new technologies when marketing the state’s ‘Endless Discoveries’ at time when, as a state, we are working to grow innovation and the high-tech sector to move the economy forward,” said Gov. Carney.

“The tourism industry is vitally important to Delaware,” Sec. Bullock said. “The sector employs almost 43,000 people thanks in large part to the hard work and ingenuity of small business owners and entrepreneurs, who are a backbone of the state’s economy and who help make the visitor experience here so incredible.”

A record 9 million people visited Delaware in 2016, contributing a record $3.3 billion to the state’s economy, according to the latest Value of Tourism report.

“One of the most important ways the state tourism office works to drive out-of-state visitation to Delaware is by keeping on top of the changing landscape of technology,” Delaware Tourism Director Liz Keller said. “Staying at the forefront means adopting new technologies, listening to customers and engaging with them.”

Nemours Estate expects that being featured in the tourism office’s first-ever virtual tour will help continue the tremendous growth in visitation it has seen recently. The number of visitors grew to 25,000 in 2017, up from 15,000 in 2016.

“The virtual tour will introduce people, who may not yet be familiar with Nemours Estate, to the beauty of our mansion, gardens and grounds,” said John Rumm, executive director of Nemours Estate. “We’re confident that once people see us on a virtual tour they will want to visit us in person.”

Travelers stopping at the Delaware Welcome Center Travel Plaza on I-95 Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. have the chance to put on the headset for themselves to take the tour in celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week.

The Delaware Tourism Office, 99 Kings Highway in Dover, part of the Delaware Division of Small Business, promotes tourism and economic growth in Delaware. For more information, visit the official Delaware Tourism website at http://www.visitdelaware.com or call toll-free at (866) 284-7483.

Media Contact
Gary Haber
Communications Manager
Delaware Division of Small Business
Gary.Haber@delaware.gov
(302) 577-8471 (office)
(302) 222-7114 (cell phone)