Starpoint Properties Welcomes OZ Challenges, Investments

NEW YORK CITY – Starpoint Properties, a real estate investment company based in Beverly Hills, California, is all in on Opportunity Zones, a tax incentive program introduced in the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to direct resources to distressed census tracts. The program has become a focal point in its portfolio, showing a great enough promise in potential tax benefits to overcome challenges with understanding the unfolding tax program and its regulatory guidelines, Mike Treiman, general counsel at the firm, tells GlobeSt.com.

“It’s a really exciting time for a company like ours, which has defined this as an important business strategy, and one that we’re going to dedicate resources to really understanding and really moving in,” Treiman said.

The 30-year-old firm didn’t jump into Opportunity Zones without giving it heavy thought. Starpoint weighed the advantages and teamed up with multiple law firms devoted to understanding the tax program to work through the challenges, such as timing and appreciation standards for target assets and doubling a property’s basis. Because the deals tend to move slower in an Opportunity Zone due to the timeline of tax deferment ranging between seven to 10 years, Starpoint is evolving its strategies in tandem to make sure they’re tested and re-tested in their capital deployment over that time, according to Treiman.