By Dominic Abassi

Proposed tax exemption aims to entice downtown development, improvements

Mar 4, 2018 | 10:02 PM

NANAIMO — The City of Nanaimo is crafting a tax incentive program designed to spur new development and revitalization in the downtown core.

The proposed downtown revitalization tax exemption program would offer 10-year exemptions on the City portion of property taxes for commercial and residential projects which meet certain criteria.

Deputy director of community development Bill Corsan said the goal is to not only entice new projects, but also create “A catalyst to encourage development of some of these less desirable properties.”

The program would replace an outgoing policy which waved development cost charges for downtown projects, something that mainly benefited new builds and wasn’t designed to be marketed as an incentive.

Corsan said the City’s official community plan calls for denser residential developments and unique commercial space downtown and it’s hoped this new incentive will deliver on that goal.

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“We want downtown to be a vibrant, energetic place for people to come…We feel this program should help see some infill development take place.”

New commercial or residential buildings with a value of over $500,000 would qualify for the exemption, as well as improvements of more than $500,000 to existing commercial locations.

A staff report showed a 14-unit medical office development, for example, would save nearly $1 million in taxes over the 10 years.

Coun. Jerry Hong said the new incentive should lead to more housing downtown and eventually increased revenue for the City.

He pointed to the old A&B Sound building, which pays relatively little property tax due its low assessed value.

“We’re going to be getting the tax dollars not on the vacant land or the derelict building…But on the improvements which have drastically increased the value,” Hong said. “I think people have to look at it as a short term investment for long term gain.”

Hong said he particularly liked a feature of the program where the exemption is passed along to whoever owns a residential unit. “I think it’s going to be a win-win for the developers and the people that do buy these properties.”

Nanaimo realtor Dave Hammond was pleased to see the exemption designed to encourage revitalization of old or abandoned buildings.

“I think the renovation piece is important because there aren’t that many vacant lots downtown, but there are a number of sites that could stand to be renovated into something better,” Hammond said.

The City currently offers 13 grant and tax exemption programs, including one applying to new hotels and motels or improvements to existing ones over $2 million. So far four hotels have applied for that offer, however none have broken ground to date.

Council asked for a report on expanded tax exemption options in August 2017 and discussed the proposal for the first time at a December Finance and Audit Committee meeting. Corsan said staff will present more information to the committee this month and the bylaw could be up for approval in the spring.

Even without the proposed development incentive in place, there is plenty of activity focused on downtown Nanaimo:

Under Construction

238 Franklyn – 46-unit residential, two ground floor commercial. Five-storey, multi-family rental building.

Building Permit Being Reviewed

91 Chapel – 61-unit multi-family development with five live/work units.

440 Selby – 45-room, four-storey hotel, Quality Inn flag. 10-year Revitalization Tax Exemption approved by Council.

15 Front Street – 59-room, six-storey hotel. 10-year Revitalization Tax Exemption approved by Council.

Development Permit Approved

20 Prideaux – 57-unit, four-storey, seniors residence.

100 Gordon – 155-room, nine-storey hotel, Courtyard by Marriot. 10-year Revitalization Tax Exemption approved by Council.

Applying for Development Permit

20 Barsby – 58-unit, five-storey multi-family.

Applying for a Rezoning

65/77 Chapel Street – 92 residential units, 21-storeys, multi-family.

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi