Business View Magazine
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tory has created some challenges and opportunities
for future growth. “As we look to build up our downtown
the former industrial lands along our waterfront need
to be decontaminated, meaning significantly higher
costs for their development. While this is a challenge,
it also presents an opportunity. As a city, we have been
able to keep these lands attractive for development by
creating a tax incentive program that provides a break
on future property taxes as compensation for environ-
mental cleanup. With this program we are creating
win-win scenarios environmentally and economically.”
It’s clear that new developments, as well as their sub-
sequent maintenance, will require substantial invest-
ment from both public and private coffers, a hot topic
for municipalities across the country. Regarding the
former, Paterson says, “Kingston has emerged as a
leader with our annual one percent property tax levy
investment in capital infrastructure. This means every
year we have dedicated funds to maintain and upgrade
our roadways, water and wastewater systems, bridges,
and other capital needs. This has positioned Kingston
well to ensure we can realize growth into the future.”
While Kingston continues to develop physically, its
population is still growing at a moderate rate and de-
mographic trends presage a slowing down of that dy-
namic over the next few decades. “That’s why we’re
being proactive,” says Paterson. “We have initiated an
immigration strategy that will look not only to attract
new residents to the city, but also identify where gaps
exist in our labor market and enable us to attract and
retain new talent. A target area for retention is post-
secondary students. As a community we are building
a culture of support to encourage entrepreneurs and
innovators to build their businesses here.”
While Kingston certainly has a lot of history to cele-
brate - 28 National Historic Sites, 635 municipally des-
ignated heritage properties, and 544 listed heritage
properties - this is one Canadian city that always has
its eye on the future. It truly is the place where history
and innovation thrive.
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