U.S. Treasury-Approved Opportunity Zone Approved for Camden County

The following is a press release issued by MO Lake Development.

November 6, 2026 · Media contact: MO Lake Development, info@molakedev.com

Camden County Lands One of Missouri’s 131 New Opportunity Zones. The U.S. Treasury picked the land between Camdenton and Linn Creek. It could help bring homes, year-round jobs and local services. It is not a data center, and it does not approve any building.

CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — Big news for the Lake: Camden County just landed one of Missouri’s 131 new Opportunity Zones. On November 5, the U.S. Treasury officially designated Census Tract
9504.01 — the area between Camdenton and Linn Creek along Highways 5 and 54. It is the only one in Camden County. It is a rural zone, which brings extra benefits for investors who build here. It
starts January 1, 2027, and lasts 10 years.

Opportunity Zones aren’t new at the Lake. The Sunrise Beach area has been an Opportunity Zone since 2018. Let’s be clear: this is not a data center. It is not an approval for a data center. An Opportunity
Zone does not approve any building at all. Every project still goes through local zoning and public hearings.

MO Lake Development has removed the data center from its plans. Camden County, the City of Camdenton and the City of Linn Creek all have data center rules in place. How we got here. This spring, many residents raised concerns about a data center. The City of
Camdenton, the Camden County Commission and State Rep. Jeff Vernetti withdrew their support for the nomination.

MO Lake Development applied through the State’s public process without that support, because it believes the zone can help the whole community. The State of Missouri nominated the tract, and the U.S. Treasury made the final decision.

Missouri’s own U.S. Senator Josh Hawley is working on the same thing. In September he introduced U.S. Senate Bill 5418, the No Tax Breaks for Data Centers Act. It is written to stop data centers from getting Opportunity Zone tax breaks anywhere in the country.

Homes, shops and other local businesses could still use them. MO Lake Development supports that principle. The bill is now with the Senate Finance Committee.

How does an Opportunity Zone help? It is a federal tax break for people who invest in the zone. But it only works if they build or fix something here and leave their money here for years. Buying land and just waiting doesn’t count. After 5 years, part of the tax they owe goes away. After 10 years, their new growth is tax-free. It costs residents, the city and the county nothing.

The zone is bigger than one project. It covers about 6,100 acres of land, and about 1,900 people already live there. LIVARA’s land, including land still being purchased, is about 3 out of every 10 of
those acres. Every family, farm, shop and business in the zone can attract new investment — not just us.

What could come next. LIVARA, MO Lake Development’s planned community, starts with about
550 homes for working families, seniors and others, plus small local shops, a small hotel and the first steps toward a school. The first phase is expected to create more than 250 construction jobs and more than 100 year-round jobs. The project has promised in writing to take no water from the Lake of the Ozarks.

“I graduated high school here, and I’m raising my two daughters here,” said Brandi Freese of MO Lake Development. “People asked us hard questions this year, and they deserved straight answers.
Here’s one: this is about homes, jobs and a stronger Lake — not a data center.”

“An Opportunity Zone is a tool, not a permit,” said Blake Hodits, founder of MO Lake Development.

“It helps bring patient money to the Lake. What gets built is still up to our local leaders and our neighbors, with public hearings every step of the way.”

The full list of new Opportunity Zones is posted by the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund at cdfifund.gov/opportunity-zones. Maps and graphics are attached.
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