Grants for commercial buildings located in Town centre

Do you own or lease a commercial building located in Town centre and plan to renovate your business’s façade? If you qualify, the Town will be pleased to assist you.

Scope

By-law No. 1400 applies to the following zones: C-208, C-210-A, C-210-B, C-210-C, C-210-D, C-210-E, C-210-F and C-217.

The by-law does not apply to buildings that belong to the Town or to work that has already been performed.

Amount

Under the by-law, you are entitled to a reimbursement of 50% of the cost of professional services and one-third (1/3) of your construction costs.

For buildings with one or two businesses on the ground floor and one or more doors providing access to upper floors, the maximum grant amount is $30,000 per building.

Of the maximum amount per building, no more than $2,000 may be devoted to each door providing access to upper floors.

For buildings with more than three businesses on the ground floor and one or more doors providing access to upper floors, for each of the ground floor businesses, a maximum amount of $500 per linear foot of the main façade may be granted, up to $55,000 per building.

No more than two grant applications by the same applicant may be submitted for any given building.

Eligibility

All grant applications must be approved by the Urban Planning and Inspection Division and the Treasurer’s Office treasurer before the work begins. In the 30 days following receipt of the grant application, provided the application meets the requirements, the Town will declare the application eligible and will notify the owner of such in writing.

Procedure

If the application is made by the owner, the Town requires the following:

  1. Proof of ownership;
  2. A document establishing the mandate of any person acting on the owner’s behalf;
  3. The documents required to request a permit from the Urban Planning and Inspection Division in accordance with By-law No. 1316;
  4. At least one itemized bid covering all the work to be performed.

If the application is made by the tennant, the Town requires the following:

  1. Proof of occupancy (lease);
  2. A document attesting to the fact that the owner of the building concerned consents to the work;
  3. The documents listed in items 2, 3 and 4 of the preceding paragraph.

Payment

As soon as possible after all the necessary documents have been provided and your request is deemed eligible, a written notice confirming the value of the acceptable work will be sent to you.

No more than 90 days after being notified of the approval of the grant by the director, the Treasurer’s Office and Material Resources Department will pay 50% of the total amount of the grant. The balance will be paid on the first date on which property taxes are due for the fiscal year following the year the first payment was made.

However, if the amount of the grant is under $6,000, it will be paid in a lump sum in the 90 days following the notice of grant approval.

You can begin the planned work on the approval date and will have one year to complete it.