Planning Act, Administration has confirmed that the grant amount does not exceed the total cost of the project.

Climate Change Risks

The rehabilitation of the existing building will have a low impact on how the project affects climate change, because improvements are largely contained to the existing building footprint where modern building methods will be utilized.

Climate Change Mitigation:

The rehabilitation of the existing building contributes to the revitalization of an existing Main Street that services the surrounding Ford City Neighbourhood limiting vehicular travel and promoting walking and other alternative modes of transportation, thereby contributing to a complete community. The rehabilitation of the building will utilize modern building methods which will conform to the Ontario Building Code concerning safety and energy efficiency. New doors and windows are also proposed that will be more energy efficient then what is existing.

Utilizing an existing building and infrastructure in an existing built-up area of the City also promotes efficiency on the existing infrastructure network by not promoting development on greenfield land.

Climate Change Adaptation:

As temperatures increase and when considering the Urban Heat Island effect for the City of Windsor the property appears to be located within a Heat Vulnerability area. However, the rehabilitation of the building will utilize modern building methods which will conform to the Ontario Building Code concerning energy efficiency. New doors and windows are also proposed that will be more energy efficient then what is existing.

Financial Matters:

The Building/Property Improvement Tax Increment Grant Changes

As stated in the Discussion Section of this Report our initial calculations for this particular property revealed that the minimum annual grant (or tax increment) thresholds in the Ford City CIP are out of line with other City CIPs and the magnitude of investments being made in the Ford City CIP states that:

“ The development, redevelopment, adaptive reuse or rehabilitation of the building and/or property must result in an annual grant (or tax increment) of at least $2,500 for properties that are taxed at the “residential” tax rate, or $5,000 for all other tax categories.”

Based on how the above Program Detail is written an applicant would have to raise the assessment value by $140,800 in residential property improvements and increase the assessment by $110,521 in Commercial property improvements to meet the current eligibility requirement identified in the Program Detail. This would not be reflective of the level of investment that is expected in Ford City. To meet the intent of the program Administration feels that the threshold should be revised to the following, which is more reflective of the level of investment that is expected to occur in Ford. City: