Here are the census tracts in Baltimore that have been designated as “opportunity zones.”
All of these tracts qualify because they meet the basic criteria to be a “low-income community.” Except for one: the Port Covington census tract.
Qualifies as low-income
Too wealthy to qualify
The wealthy outlier of Port Covington qualified as an opportunity zone through the backdoor. Tracts also can qualify if they are located “within” a previous government anti-poverty area called an “empowerment zone.”
Old empowerment zone
Port Covington
Port Covington overlapped by a tiny sliver with one of these old empowerment zones, according to maps the Treasury used. This tiny overlap qualifies the entire tract for the program.
Overlap between old empowerment zone and Port Covington.
But that overlap isn’t real. The two zones are supposed to be divided by I-395. But the Treasury used maps that each drew the highway slightly differently, creating this tiny overlap.
Overlap between old empowerment zone and Port Covington.
Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank stands to gain immensely from this technical error in his favor. Here’s the property Plank controls in Port Covington.
Plank-controlled property