Peakline Launches $1.3B Opportunity Zone Fund
The program will take advantage of changes to the program made under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Peakline Real Estate Funds launched its fourth qualified Opportunity Zone investment program, targeting up to $1.3 billion in QOZ investments across various U.S. real estate sectors, including multifamily and mixed-use assets.
PREF expects Peakline Real Estate Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund IV Program to begin deploying capital in January 2027, when new guidelines approved under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill take effect. The Opportunity Zone program, set to expire at the end of this year, is now a permanent tax incentive.
QOZ IV will have a dual approach targeting a range of market opportunities for improving communities that will be designated as QOZs under the new version of the federal program. For investors, the program will offer both a Metro Fund and a Rural Fund, two strategies designed to diversify exposure across asset types and locations.
The Rural Fund will target lower-density residential, industrial and energy infrastructure assets.
How the new Bill affects QOZs
Peakline Real Estate Rural QOZ Fund IV will take advantage of the changes to the federal QOZ program made as part of the OBBB passed last year. The new version, often called OZ 2.0, has a more rural focus and includes significant economic incentives for investments in projects located in newly designated Rural Opportunity Zones.
READ ALSO: New Census Data Points to Decline in Opportunity Zone Eligibility
Under new changes, capital gains invested in a general Qualified Opportunity Fund can be deferred for five years with a 10 percent step-up in basis at the end of the deferral period. Those investing in rural OZ funds will see a threefold increase, up to 30 percent at the end of the five-year deferral period. Additionally, investors won’t pay any capital gains tax on profits if the investment is held for at least a decade.
The new law requires that census tracts must record a median family income of 70 percent of the area’s benchmark, down from 80 percent in the original OZ program. The goal is to include more economically disadvantaged areas in the new framework. Governors are tasked with nominating tracts for OZs and must choose carefully because the designations will run for 10 years if approved.
The Economic Innovation Group expects California and Texas to have the most OZ designations, followed by New York, Florida, and Ohio. Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico are also likely to gain OZ designations.
PREF’s previous QOZ record
PREF has been a leader in the Opportunity Zone market since the program’s inception and ranks among the top five managers nationally in total QOZ equity raised, according to Novogradac. PREF has $1.2 billion in equity commitments and $4 billion in total project costs across three previous QOZ vehicles. The portfolio spans multiple U.S. growth markets and focuses on residential, industrial, retail and office developments.
Last June, PREF announced it was developing Markley + Main, a 277-unit apartment community in Greenville, S.C., with partner SunCap Property Group. The investment was made through its Peakline Real Estate Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund III.
Overall, the firm has more than $1.7 billion in equity invested across six funds and select individual investments, totaling $5 billion in gross value across 17 million square feet in more than 15 key growth U.S. markets.
PREF is part of Peakline Partners, a Chicago-based private investment firm which had previously been known as Cresset Partners. The firm rebranded as Peakline Partners in February 2025.
A new BTR focus
Last spring, PREF entered the BTR sector with its $300 million Build-to-Rent Fund I, targeting purpose-built detached single-family and townhome rental communities across the Southeast, Mountain West and Midwest. The fund partners with sponsors with local expertise as it seeks infill locations in upscale suburban markets with high tenant demand driven by strong public school systems, employment hubs, retail and entertainment access.
In December, PREF and joint venture partner Lincoln Property Co. broke ground on The Claire, a 90-unit BTR townhome community in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Ill. The eight-acre community will comprise 34 two-story townhouses and 56 three-story rowhomes. First move-ins are expected this quarter.
The Claire is the second project in PREF’s BTR Fund I, which aims to develop or acquire seven to 10 properties over seven years.
