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Continued from page 46
For example, a hypothetical high-rise hotel is being built in
downtown Seattle using EB-5 funds. The hotel, upon completion, is in need of 150 full-time service workers. It would be
reasonable to assume that the small census tract in which the
hotel is located would be insufficient to supply all 150 of those
workers. Considering its small population base and available
workers, supply cannot meet demand.
However, we can assume that the area surrounding the hotel,
which is composed of several census tracts with higher levels of
unemployment like South Seattle, for example, can meet this
demand. This reflects the program’s overall intended purpose of
creating job opportunities for those in need within a broader area
that may extend beyond a narrowly-defined census tract. It is not
the wealth of the businesses or their customers that is important,
but rather the economic status of the people who reside in nearby
areas – the kind of people that need the jobs the most.
opportunities for needy residents in relative close proximity to
a project site.
One of the most important pieces of EB-5 legislation on the
table now is Congressmen Mark Amodei (R-NV) and Jared
Polis’ (D-CO) American Entrepreneurship and Investment Act
of 2015. This bill, among other improvements, codifies a 2013
USCIS memo that defers TEA designations to the states. States
have different rules on combining tracts to make TEAs but must
still ensure compliance with the statutory requirements, and it
should stay that way as states are in the best position to determine what works best locally for economic development and
job creation. Washington, like all other states, approves TEAs
before they are officially designated. That way, state officials can
look at the tracts and determine that the economic impact will
likely spread to the areas listed in the TEA.
★
In large cities like Seattle, combining tracts should not be
viewed as “gerrymandering” if these high unemployment
tracts are in close enough proximity and allow for easy access
to the project site. Inner city tracts will cover a much smaller
geography than those in smaller communities. For example, five
downtown Seattle census tracts may cover the same-sized area as
a single tract in a less populated area, so the number of tracts in
this scenario should be less of a concern.
Furthermore, it should be understood that developing a
project in any TEA cannot guarantee that only workers living
in the TEA will be hired. The intent is to create reasonable job
48
Elliot Winer is the founder and chief economist
of Northeast Economic Analysis Group. The
company provides professional economic
analysis and assistance, focusing on analyzing
targeted employment areas in the EB-5 program.
Winer works with his clients
to organize documentation
needed for TEA approval.
Winer is the economist
behind EB5Investors.com’s
TEAChecker.
Elliot Winer
EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE