the transformation that we’ve seen in the downtown core over the past five years. It’s a great incentive program that offers a combination of grants and loans. We just approved an amended program that provides up to $22,000 in non-repayable grants and up to $100,000 in loans for every individual commercial storefront in the downtown core area. We’ve had several businesses take up that program and it’s resulted in $31 million in reinvestment into the community.” “It’s a very robust program,” Valentyne continues. “It provides tax incentives, as well. There’s a grant for any tax increases that a property is subjected to for the first five years, as well as a building permit fee reduction for any made improvements. And it provides funding throughout the community. We have a brownfield area, so it provides remediation funding, and then we have funding available for the employment corps, which covers the rest of the commercial core within the community. We also provide funding for heritage-designated properties. So there’s not one property in Prescott that wouldn’t be eligible for some funding.” Over the past few years, many new businesses have emerged. “It’s been a big focus of ours,” Valentyne states, “trying to bring in non-traditional, unique niche businesses.” Some new downtown residents include Watergirl Quilt Co., which is one of the most renowned quilt stores in Canada; Katerina’s Coffee Shop; the Olde Magick Shop; and several retail clothing boutiques: Home Décor Clothing, Cozy Clozet, and Once@436 Boutique and Market. “We’ve had a real transformation in our restaurants, as well,” she adds.“There are a lot of new restaurants coming on the scene that have transformed vacant commercial spaces. It’s amazing to see the transformation that’s happened. The downtown has become a thriving hub of the community that we hope to continue to support.” In addition, over the past few years, the town has continued to invest in the downtown with beautification projects in various smaller pockets. It’s now planning a new larger downtown streetscaping project, as well.“We’re just entering the design stage of that,”Valentyne reports.“The council has set aside 4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx