Source: The Standard
Niagara Falls city council has approved a 10-year tax deferment to support construction of an industrial facility that will support about 100 jobs.
During last week’s council meeting, politicians approved a communitry improvement plan (CIP) tax increment-based grant program and umnicipal employment incentive program (MEIP) application for 6162 Progress St., subject to the owner satisfying certain requirements.
Based on preliminary review of development, along with an estimated post-project assessment, staff said the applicant may receive a grant in both municipal and regional taxes of approximately $224,865 per year over 10 years ($2,248,635). The municipal portion of the grant at the end of the 10-year term is estimated to be $949,420.
Council supported a CIP and MEIP for this development in 2019. After council’s decision and due to unforeseen circumstances, staff said the applicant had to switch to a new construction engineering company, G.W. Work Construction.
The new industrial facility will have a total gross floor area of 5,951 square metres (64,058 square feet) for the vacant 1.69-hectare (4.17-acre) parcel on Progress Street.
Construction and expansion will support the retention of the company’s 60 workers and support future hires of 40 to 50 full-time employees, said staff.
Niagara River Trading Co. is a provider of products to more than 2,000 retail customers in the souvenir and resort industry in Canada and United States.
The company is projecting sales of more than $17 million for 2023 and is expecting to increase to more than $20 million by the time the facility is complete, said staff, adding the company has indicated it has outgrown its space at 6199 Don Murie St. and plans to relocate to nearby Progress Street in the same Stanley Avenue business park.
Niagara Falls city council has approved a 10-year tax deferment to support construction of an industrial facility that will support about 100 jobs.
During last week’s council meeting, politicians approved a communitry improvement plan (CIP) tax increment-based grant program and umnicipal employment incentive program (MEIP) application for 6162 Progress St., subject to the owner satisfying certain requirements.
Based on preliminary review of development, along with an estimated post-project assessment, staff said the applicant may receive a grant in both municipal and regional taxes of approximately $224,865 per year over 10 years ($2,248,635). The municipal portion of the grant at the end of the 10-year term is estimated to be $949,420.
Council supported a CIP and MEIP for this development in 2019. After council’s decision and due to unforeseen circumstances, staff said the applicant had to switch to a new construction engineering company, G.W. Work Construction.
The new industrial facility will have a total gross floor area of 5,951 square metres (64,058 square feet) for the vacant 1.69-hectare (4.17-acre) parcel on Progress Street.
Construction and expansion will support the retention of the company’s 60 workers and support future hires of 40 to 50 full-time employees, said staff.
Niagara River Trading Co. is a provider of products to more than 2,000 retail customers in the souvenir and resort industry in Canada and United States.
The company is projecting sales of more than $17 million for 2023 and is expecting to increase to more than $20 million by the time the facility is complete, said staff, adding the company has indicated it has outgrown its space at 6199 Don Murie St. and plans to relocate to nearby Progress Street in the same Stanley Avenue business park.
The Niagara Gateway Economic Zone Community Improvement Plan was initiated by Niagara Region to achieve provincial growth plan goals to revitalize, diversify and strengthen the economy in Niagara by promoting development of employment lands.
The Region’s CIP was adopted in 2013 and the city approved a corresponding CIP soon thereafter. Development, construction or rehabilitation projects that result in an increase in assessment value and property taxes for employment uses are eligible for the tax-increment based grant under the CIP.
The grant is provided when construction is complete and Municipal Property Assessment Corp. has added the additional taxable assessment to the roll.
Coun. Lori Lococo said while a taxpayer might look at what council approved and think the city is giving away money, she wanted staff to highlight what the benefits are to the community.
“Yes, we are giving some concessions at one point, but we get a lot of different benefits after.”
Andrew Bryce, a planning director for the city, said the program is a tax deferment for a decade.
“After that period, the taxes will come in at the full rate,” he said. “It is a 90 per cent reduction in the 10 years. In exchange, the city gets a new development that would have not happened before. So, we have a new plant, we have a new facility there that is expected to be continued to be used and generate full taxes on it.”
Bryce said the project helps the city retain jobs, noting industrial/manufacturing employment “tend to pay more” than service-level jobs.
“The city is heavily reliant on the tourism industry for employment. We’ve seen the last couple of years that when you don’t get the tourists, you don’t necessarily get the jobs, so this will help to diversify the employment base in the city and just provide new opportunities for residents.”
Mayor Jim Diodati said some people use the term “corporate welfare” when thinking about CIPs, but that’s “not at all what it is.”
“It’s incentivizing development, which in the end makes us more money than we would have had otherwise,” he said.
Coun. Ruth-Ann Nieuwesteeg said she was involved with CIPs in the Main and Ferry Business Improvement Area and that it “spurred” development.
“It really helps improve and pushes people to do things they may not have done. I’m looking forward to our (CIP) review process and hoping that we can do even more because it’s amazing how people will step up to the plate when they get a little bit of incentive.”