Community Improvement Plan (CIP) - Grants

• Encourage new office development and re-development by providing grants to applicants located in the defined improvement area
• Ensure the availability of a range of office space to businesses to provide more opportunities for local employment that supports intensification and a live/work balance in Richmond Hill
• Allow businesses to better access the highly-educated workforce living in Richmond Hill

The CIPA boundary includes the following areas, as designated in the Official Plan (2010): 

• The Centres and Corridors along Yonge Street (from Highway 7 in the south to Bloomington Road in the north) and including:
  • Richmond Hill Centre
  • Regional Mixed-Use Corridor designated lands
  • Yonge and 16th Avenue Key Development Area (KDA)
  • Yonge and Bernard Avenue KDA
  • Village Local Centre
  • Oak Ridges Local Centre
  • Newkirk Employment Area
  • Beaver Creek Employment Area

The following are General Eligibility Criteria that must be met by all applications for assistance under the programs set out in this CIP. The General Eligibility Criteria must be read in association with the program-specific eligibility criteria for each program. 

The General Eligibility Criteria for each application for CIP programs include: 

1. The subject property is located within the boundary of the Community Improvement Plan Area (CIPA).
2. The proposed application(s) for CIP program support are in conformity with the City’s Official Plan, and any relevant Secondary Plan.
3. The applicant, property owner, assessed property owner or tenant of a property to whom the owner has assigned consent to receive assistance under the CIP is in good standing with regard to by-laws of the City of Richmond Hill, property taxes, municipal fees and levies liable on the property and/or outstanding municipal bills and is not involved in ongoing litigation with the City. Should such matters be remedied and/or cleared and/or resolved, applications for assistance under the CIP may be reinstated.
4. The applicant must be either a registered property owner, assessed property owner or a tenant of a property to whom the owner has assigned consent to receive assistance under the CIP. 

Approval will be based on the merits of each application (i.e. achievement of eligibility criteria).  The amount of assistance provided under the CIP programs is subject to and at the discretion of Council and is dependent on the list of eligible costs identified for each CIP program.  The total of all grants and tax assistance made in respect of the eligible lands and/or buildings may not exceed the eligible costs of the CIP with respect to those lands and/or buildings.  

The Tax Increment Equivalent Grant (TIEG) program for office is designed to support the development/intensification of office (stand-alone or as part of mixed-use developments) across the entire CIPA. 

The TIEG program leverages the increased assessment and property taxation generated by office development and reduces costs of development by:

• Providing a grant equivalent to the municipal portion of the property tax for a new office development; and
• Limiting the total impact of increased assessment and property taxes as a result of the development by phasing the increases in over a maximum period of 10 years or equivalent to the maximum cost of rehabilitation, renovation and/or (re)development. 

This TIEG program focuses on net municipal taxation gain associated with new office development, which would otherwise be unrealized if the office development had not occurred. As part of the program, the property owner/developer pays for the full cost of new office development and the resultant increase in property taxes. The program allows the City to grant back to the owner and/or development and/or assigned recipient, on a declining basis, an amount equal to a portion of the municipal portion of the property tax increase. During the grant period, tax assessment growth resulting from an office development is forgone income for the City. However, at the end of the TIEG program, the grant ceases and the City collects the full amount of property taxes, realizing the full benefit of increased property assessment. 

The program is structured as follows:

• The maximum amount of the grant is 90% of the annual tax increment, over the agreed base assessment and property tax liability in Year 1, declining by 10% per annum;
• The maximum duration of the program is 10 years; and
• The maximum total grant amount is limited to the lesser of the total tax increment over the duration of the program or the total eligible costs. 

For an illustration of the Tax Increment Equivalent Grant (TIEG) and how it works, see page 41 of the approved Community Improvement Plan (CIP).

Program-specific Eligibility Criteria 

In addition to the general eligibility requirements for all programs, the following list outlines the additional program-specific eligibility criteria that must be met in order to be considered for a grant:

• A minimum of 1,600 square metres of new office space, in stand-alone or mixed-use developments, is proposed to be developed.
• In mixed-use developments, the grant shall reflect and apply only to the tax increment associated only with the office portion of the development.
• Final eligibility will be determined through the demonstrated success of the project through all stages of application (as required) for planning approval, building permit issuance and building code compliance, construction, occupancy, financial viability and revaluation by the Ontario Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).

The Building Renovation Grant program is designed to promote the adaptive re-use of existing structures (industrial, commercial or other) for office in the Village Local Centre, Oak Ridges Local Centre, Newkirk Business Park and Beaver Creek Business Park areas of the CIPA. This grant program has the potential to leverage significant private sector investment in interior building renovations and improvement associated with office uses. 

The program is structured as follows:

• The grant maximum is $100,000 per property and the grant minimum is $10,000 per property; and
• The grant is provided on a matching funds basis, to a maximum of 50% of eligible costs 
  
  

Program-specific Eligibility Criteria 

In addition to the general eligibility requirements for all programs, the following list outlines the additional program-specific eligibility criteria that must be met in order to be considered for a grant:

• The subject property is located in one of the following CIPAs:
  • Village Local Centre; 
  • Oak Ridges Local Centre;
  • Newkirk Business Park; and/or 
  • Beaver Creek Business Park.
• A conversion of existing commercial and/or industrial and/or residential space to new office space is planned.
• The proposed improvements are not considered “general tenant fit-up” (see page 38 of the approved Community Improvement Plan (CIP) for definition of general tenant fit-up) or systems upgrades associated with existing uses.
• Improvements related to accessibility in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) are eligible.
• For the adaptive reuse of a building on the City’s Inventory of Architectural and Historical Significance, proposed renovations may be for any non-residential use.

The Façade, Landscape and Signage Improvement Grant Program seeks to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the Village Local Centre, through façade, public realm and signage improvements, as well as street‐front redevelopment, and any resultant economic spin-off effects. A key goal of this program is to support the achievement of the linked system of courtyards. 

Under the Façade, Landscape and Signage Improvement Grant Program, matching grants will be offered to eligible property owners within the portion of the Village Local Centre area identified as the Richmond Hill Business Improvement Area (BIA), as determined by Council. The grant is for building facing, rear and front lot landscaping (publicly accessible parts of private properties), exterior signage improvements or any combination of these categories of property enhancement. 

The program structure is identified below: 

Program-specific Eligibility Criteria 

In addition to the general eligibility requirements for all programs, the following list outlines the additional program-specific eligibility criteria that must be met in order to be considered for a grant:

• The subject property is located within the Richmond Hill Business Improvement Area (BIA). 

• The subject property accommodates a non-residential use.

• An improvement of one or more building facades and/or an improvement of signage and/or an improvement of landscaping is proposed for the subject property.
• If applying for a Façade or Landscaping Grant, the proposed improvements are to eligible facades including:
  • Frontage façade;
  • Side façade or rear façade, where the side or rear of a property is facing a public and/or private street/lane and/or public park and/or public gathering space, and/or parking area that is accessible and/or highly visible to the general public.
• If proposed improvements to rear facades and/or rear landscaping improvements are proposed they shall be considered secondary for purposes of allocation of funding under this program.
• The proposed improvements are in keeping with the design objectives of the Official Plan and other applicable urban design guidelines.

Office buildings being constructed in York Region could be eligible to defer the full amount of the Regional development charges payable for up to 20 years. The deferral of development charges is interest free and could begin at occupancy.* The Table below highlights options available.

 Source: York Region's Office Building Development Charge Deferrals - Summary Chart 

The five to 20-year development charge deferrals are a part of a three-year pilot, limited to a total of 1.5 million square feet of office space.

For more information, program qualification criteria and terms, please visit: york.ca/financialincentives