The fund would take advantage of new tax breaks for investors in low-income U.S. communities. Brookfield, founded in Montreal but now headquartered in New York City, plans to use the fund to invest in six projects in designated “opportunity zones,” such as residential developments in the Brooklyn and Bronx neighbourhoods, as well as a shopping centre in Connecticut, according to sources who spoke to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Talking point: The tax breaks, introduced in U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2017 federal tax overhaul, have been at times controversial in what they actually produce for low-income U.S. residents. It isn’t the first time that major developers have been accused of taking advantage of such programs tailored to benefit lower-income areas: in March, The New York Times reported that Hudson Yards received almost US$6 billion in tax breaks and other government incentives. And, in April, critics questioned the amount of money used for Hudson Yards’ development that was allotted for the EB-2 visa program, by which immigrant investors put their money toward projects in areas with high unemployment in order to buy their visas at lower rates.