Opportunity zones were created to spur development in distressed neighborhoods, but developers in some areas are struggling to find tenants for their new properties. Their savior may be another rising trend in commercial real estate: co-working.

Lured by the lower cost of shared office space, start-ups also gain access to a network of eager investors looking for companies to back, a combination that is helping to create incubators in underserved markets.

The former General Electric campus in Fort Wayne, Ind., a long-planned development called Electric Works, sits in an opportunity zone. The project encompasses 2.7 million square feet, and co-working is expected to account for more than 72,000 square feet of that space.

The project’s co-working component — available month to month to companies with up to 15 employees — is a key part of an attempt to draw the surrounding community into what its backers say will be an innovation hub in the city.