Erie County Expands Opportunity Zone Map

Treasury and IRS approve nine census tracts for Pennsylvania's second-round Opportunity Zone designation, adding Wesleyville and Union City.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Regional Economics

Isometric editorial illustration of irregular rectilinear land parcels seen from above, nine raised in mustard against slate, representing expanded economic development zones. — The U.S. Treasury and IRS approved nine more census tracts for Erie County, Pennsylvania, adding Wesleyville and Union City to the state's Opportunity Zone program. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The U.S. Treasury and Internal Revenue Service approved Pennsylvania's expanded Qualified Opportunity Zones map for Erie County, covering nine census tracts. Wesleyville and Union City boroughs will participate in the program for the first time.

Why it matters

The expanded map extends the Opportunity Zone program beyond the City of Erie to surrounding communities, including rural areas. The designation is intended to attract private-sector investment to the county.

The approved map adds nine census tracts to Erie County, and the first phase of the program generated more than $400 million in investment. The source does not say how much of that investment the newly designated tracts are expected to draw.

The players

U.S. Department of the Treasury

The federal department that approved Pennsylvania's expanded Opportunity Zone map for the second round of the program.

Internal Revenue Service

The federal tax agency that jointly approved the expanded Opportunity Zone map with the Treasury Department.

The details

The expanded map covers communities in the City of Erie, Wesleyville, Union City and rural areas, and several new tracts meet federal rural criteria. Pennsylvania submitted the map for the second round of the program, and the Treasury and IRS approved it.

The new designation period begins January 1, 2027.
The new designation period ends December 31, 2036.

Regional Economics

The approval extends the federal Opportunity Zone program established under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into a second designation round, reaching Erie County boroughs that were not part of the original map. The first phase's more than $400 million in investment is the benchmark the expanded designations will be measured against.

Investors considering projects in the newly designated Wesleyville, Union City and rural Erie County tracts may be able to use the Opportunity Zone program's tax incentives, which apply during the designation period from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2036. Residents in these communities may see development activity tied to the designation, though the source does not specify its timing or scale.

The takeaway

Communities added to an Opportunity Zone map gain access to federal investment incentives for a fixed window, so local officials and property owners benefit from planning projects around the 2027 to 2036 designation period.