Ontario Construction News staff writer
The City of Barrie’s Community Improvement Plan (CIP) is now open for 2021 applications. The CIP offers financial incentives for eligible projects that target key planning and growth management objectives for development within Barrie.
This includes affordable housing projects, brownfield site redevelopment, and mixed-use developments within the Urban Growth Centre, key intensification areas and the preservation of heritage buildings.
Applications can be submitted online via APLI, the city’s online application tool.
There are three grant streams:
Redevelopment Grant Program:
- provides incentives to promote the redevelopment of underutilized sites (e.g. brownfields) within the Urban Growth Centre and strategic growth areas for the purpose of providing a mix of land uses including residential, commercial, office and institutional to help create a more complete community.
Preservation of Built Heritage Grant Program:
- provides financial assistance to renovate buildings that are on the municipal heritage register.
Affordable Housing Development Grant Program:
- provides incentives to promote the development of affordable housing units, based on a definition of “affordable” that allows the City to address the full range of housing including low and low to moderate income households. These projects also target housing solutions for the low and low-moderate income households in the community and/or encourage the construction of long-term rental units.
CIP grant applications can be made through the City’s APLI (Applications, Permits, Licenses and Inspections) portal. The first intake of grant applications will be accepted from February 15 to May 15, 2021.
Broadly, the objectives of this CIP are to:
- Facilitate the development of a mix of land uses within the UGC;
- Support built heritage preservation; and
- Support the provision of a variety of affordable housing units by offering financial support based on a continuum of housing options.
More specifically, the plan is intended to:
- Intensify the UGC and strategic growth areas by encouraging a mix of land uses and an increase in the number of residential units.
- Make use of existing municipal services and infrastructure.
- Create a mix of unit types across the continuum of affordable housing options, geared towards the low and low to moderate income households.
- Increase the number of affordable housing units within the City.
- Facilitate renovation, restoration and adaptive reuse of existing buildings in the Urban Growth Centre and buildings included on the Municipal Heritage Register.
For more information and to apply, visit barrie.ca/CIP.
