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Vertikal (471-481 King St E) | 23 & 19 fl | U/C
#4
Developer wants city to extend incentives to east of downtown boundary
June 3, 2013 | Terry Pender | The Record | LINK
Quote:KITCHENER — There will be calls to assist developers along King Street East in upcoming discussions about how the city should support new construction on underutilized land in the downtown area.

At stake are millions in profits for developers and how fast litter-strewn, derelict properties are transformed into attractive, high-density, mixed-use areas that will support the light rail transit.

Parts of the downtown are seeing a lot of interest from developers, but that will not happen along King Street East — from Cedar to Ottawa streets — until the same suite of incentives are provided in that area too, said Larry Kotseff, a vice-president of Fusion Homes.

But a discussion paper released last week by the City of Kitchener keeps the existing boundaries in place that decide who qualifies for the incentives, and who must pay all of the development costs on their own.

Kotseff said he is surprised and disappointed the boundary was not extended eastward along King Street.

In December 2010 Fusion Homes bought the entire block bounded by King Street East, Madison Avenue, Charles and Cameron streets. A used-car lot, an auto-repair garage and a car-rental outlet dominate the property now.

Fusion Homes paid $3.6 million for the nearly one-hectare (2.4-acre) block. It plans to build 250 residential units in a combination of townhomes and two larger buildings.

If the property were located one block to the west, Fusion Homes would qualify for a $4 million reduction in development charges — special fees that are paid when building permits are issued — among other supports.

"Nothing is going to happen in that King Street East corridor, in my opinion, until there is some fairness in the game," Kotseff said. "It is a tough area to be the first one in down there."

For Kotseff, fairness means providing developers on King Street East with the same incentives as those in the downtown.

Currently, the City of Kitchener eliminates or reduces fees, permit costs and special charges for new development that occurs within a clearly defined area in the downtown — roughly along the north downtown along Weber Street from Breithaupt to Cedar streets; and bounded on the south side of the downtown along Joseph, David and Charles streets.

To encourage development in that zone the city offers a 50 per cent reduction to post-development tax increases for up to three years, rebates for planning and building permit fees, exemptions from parkland fees, a facade improvement loan/grant and exemptions from development charges.

That package of incentives now saves a developer $16,100 per unit in a condominium building, $15,871 a unit in apartment buildings, up to $15,534 per unit when converting an old factory into residential condos.

"For us, the challenge is where do you draw the line?" Cory Bluhm, the manager of downtown development, said of the boundaries for incentives.

"No matter where you put the line there will always be somebody on the other side saying: 'What about me?' " Bluhm said.

The city now proposes to eliminate the exemptions for parkland fees, end the three-year post-development tax exemption and eliminate the upper-storey renovation program. It will retain facade improvement grants, the program to clean up former industrial sites, and modify the rebates for planning, building, and permit fees.

A modified incentive package is needed, Bluhm said, even after the growing list of public and private sector investments in the downtown during the past 10 years.

"Downtown Kitchener is still not over the hump," says Bluhm's discussion paper. "Despite having more than 2,800 residential units in the planning and design stages for the downtown and surrounding neighbourhoods, developers remain cautious."

The city also proposes to add a new incentive — up to $40,000 for each high-tech startup firm that sets up shop in the downtown.

"They are key to the future of the downtown," Bluhm said of the startups.

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Messages In This Thread
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by Square - 12-15-2014, 03:22 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by panamaniac - 12-15-2014, 08:55 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by REnerd - 12-15-2014, 10:31 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by panamaniac - 12-15-2014, 11:12 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by Spokes - 12-15-2014, 11:44 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by rangersfan - 12-15-2014, 04:51 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by rangersfan - 12-15-2014, 05:35 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by ac3r - 08-18-2015, 04:15 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by tomh009 - 08-18-2015, 10:39 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by Spokes - 08-18-2015, 11:57 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by CTGal1011 - 08-19-2015, 11:39 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by panamaniac - 08-20-2015, 08:58 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by tomh009 - 02-04-2016, 05:29 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by Spokes - 02-05-2016, 09:45 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by tomh009 - 02-05-2016, 11:38 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by REnerd - 02-04-2016, 05:39 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by clasher - 02-04-2016, 07:44 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by panamaniac - 02-04-2016, 08:36 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by KevinL - 02-04-2016, 09:00 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by rangersfan - 02-04-2016, 09:44 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by taylortbb - 02-04-2016, 10:50 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by clasher - 02-05-2016, 08:42 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by MidTowner - 02-05-2016, 11:50 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by rangersfan - 05-13-2016, 07:13 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by rangersfan - 05-13-2016, 07:18 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by panamaniac - 05-14-2016, 09:22 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by jeffster - 05-15-2016, 11:24 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by panamaniac - 05-15-2016, 11:51 AM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by panamaniac - 05-15-2016, 01:03 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by darts - 05-15-2016, 02:35 PM
RE: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by jeffster - 05-17-2016, 07:06 PM
Re: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by rangersfan - 09-18-2014, 11:13 PM
Re: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by rangersfan - 09-18-2014, 11:15 PM
Re: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by rangersfan - 09-18-2014, 11:22 PM
Re: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by Spokes - 09-18-2014, 11:36 PM
Re: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by rangersfan - 09-19-2014, 06:49 AM
Re: Fusion Homes Downtown project - by 519 - 09-21-2014, 07:34 AM

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