Erie County Adds Nine Opportunity Zone Tracts

Owners and investors in Wesleyville, Union City and rural Erie County can use the designation for projects starting in 2027.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Regional Economics

Erie County Adds Nine Opportunity Zone Tracts

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The U.S. Treasury and Internal Revenue Service approved Pennsylvania's expanded Qualified Opportunity Zones map for Erie County, adding nine census tracts. Wesleyville and Union City boroughs join the program for the first time, with the new designation period running from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2036.

Why it matters

The expansion moves Opportunity Zone eligibility beyond the City of Erie's urban footprint into surrounding boroughs and rural areas, which can change where capital-seeking businesses look for sites and financing in the county. Several newly designated tracts meet federal rural criteria, a detail that matters for owners weighing expansion or relocation outside the city core.

The expanded Erie County map covers nine census tracts across the City of Erie, Wesleyville, Union City and rural areas. The program's first phase generated more than $400 million in Opportunity Zone investment, a figure that the new designation period, running from 2027 through 2036, is meant to extend into the newly added tracts.

The players

U.S. Department of the Treasury

The federal department that administers the Opportunity Zone program and approved the expanded map for Pennsylvania.

Internal Revenue Service

The federal tax agency that co-approved the expanded map and administers the tax incentives tied to Opportunity Zone investments.

The details

Pennsylvania submitted an expanded map for the second round of the federal program, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service approved it. The map keeps the original designated areas in the City of Erie and adds tracts in Wesleyville, Union City and rural parts of the county. The new designation period runs from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2036, giving investors a defined decade-long window to deploy capital into the designated areas.

January 1, 2027: New Opportunity Zone designation period begins.
December 31, 2036: New Opportunity Zone designation period ends.

Market Landscape

The expansion extends the federal Opportunity Zone program established by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into a second designation round, following the first phase that drew more than $400 million in investment in Erie County. Erie's first-phase results were cited in a White House Council of Economic Advisers report, which positions the county's expansion as a continuation of a program already credited with local results.

Owners in the City of Erie, Wesleyville, Union City and the rural tracts should consider how the 2027 to 2036 designation window affects site selection and financing timelines for any planned expansion. Businesses weighing a move into a newly designated tract should have qualified tax counsel or an accountant review how Opportunity Zone rules apply to their specific situation.

The takeaway

The designation runs for a decade, so operators with expansion plans in Erie County should map them against the January 1, 2027 start date. Track how the county's regional partners connect these incentives to local infrastructure, housing and commercial priorities, since that coordination will shape which tracts attract investment first.