Areu Bros. Studio Launches New Platform to Support Inclusion, Diversity in Hollywood

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Platform is part of the Qualified Opportunity Zones program, enacted into law through the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

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Ozzie Areu, founder and CEO of Latino-centric film and TV studio Areu Bros., announced on Tuesday that his company has launched a Qualified Opportunity Zones platform to provide resources to support inclusion and diversity. The program, Areu said, will encompass entertainment, technology and real estate with Qualified Opportunity Zones in Atlanta, Puerto Rico, Miami, and Los Angeles. Areu plans to continue to push his young company’s mandate of supporting minority and female storytellers and creators through this Qualified Opportunity Zones program, enacted into law through the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The program provides long-term equity investors with significant tax incentives when they re- invest their capital gains in businesses and real estate located in low-income communities. “Opportunity Zones stimulate communities through infusing new capital to create jobs and economic growth in underserved areas, much like our home in Fulton County’s Greenbriar neighborhood,” Areu said in a statement. “I’ve spent over a decade working for Tyler Perry witnessing the studio create jobs and opportunity in Greenbriar, and now it is my honor to have the ability to deploy resources to an amazing, vibrant community that has supported me and my family for years. “As impact investors, the fact that we get to do this by supporting compelling stories and businesses helmed by women and minority creators and innovators brings our vision to a whole new level,” he continued. “We envision the studio as an incubator for creators from across multiple industries. We want to optimize creativity and collaboration at every level of our organization.” Former Obama senior economic advisor Steve Glickman, who was one of the architects of the Qualified Opportunity Zone program, will join the Areu Bros. team along with another former Obama advisor Andrés W. López as senior advisors. They will work alongside Areu Bros. President Kim Leadford and Gloria Estefan, a partner and an executive with the company. Areu Bros. said it also plans to expand its operations and further develop its remaining 30 acres at its studio lot, located in a Fulton County, a federal Opportunity Zone. Areu Bros. Studios currently consists of five sound stages, an eleven-home suburban backlot and four administration buildings. “Areu Bros. is unique in its approach as a Qualified Opportunity Zones platform that crosses asset classes and geographies, bringing together the creative fields, technology, and real estate to create long-term and sustainable value creation,” Glickman said in a statement. “Their unparalleled and pioneering track record in television and film content and production speaks to the enormous potential they have to bring a serious entertainment industry to the places in America that need it most.”

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