City rethinking commercial tax breaks for Orléans
Kate Porter | CBC News | Posted: June 3, 2021 4:06 AM | Last Updated: June 4, 2021
Focus on highly skilled jobs failed to yield results, councillor says
The City of Ottawa is revamping tax incentives aimed at attracting highly skilled jobs to Orléans, settling instead for commercial redevelopment that creates full-time positions of any kind.
Long before it targeted Vanier for revitalization, awarding a Porsche dealership there a tax break that could be worth $2.9 million over 10 years, the city created a pair of community improvement plans for Orléans.
One, aimed at the eastern suburb's main commercial strip of St. Joseph Boulevard, has resulted in seven grants since 2009, including a new Farm Boy grocery store that by next year will get back $448,621 of the $640,887 it's paid in taxes since opening in 2012, a rebate of 70 per cent.
The other program offered tax incentives for any redevelopment that lures highly skilled jobs to Orléans, where there are 120,000 residents but few employers. Only a couple of grants have been given since that second program was launched in 2013.
"Neither had the uptake that we would have liked to have seen," said Coun. Matt Luloff during a virtual community meeting Wednesday night.
Now, the city will combine both programs to try to lure more jobs, improve St. Joseph Boulevard and encourage street-level businesses to open near the new light rail extension due to arrive in a few years.
East end 'open for business'
Innes ward Coun. Laura Dudas said the revamped program should send the message that the east end is "open for business."
Economic development officer Chris Cope said applicants will have to show that their developments wouldn't go ahead without the city grant.
Cope said the city wasn't having great success attracting knowledge jobs to Orléans, and will instead aim for redevelopment that can create any 20 full-time positions of any kind.
"We simply want jobs. More jobs in Orléans, I think, is a good thing," said Cope.
The tax incentive would be capped at $5 million over a decade.
Cope said staff have mapped out 700 commercial properties in Orléans that could stand to be renewed and would be eligible, but said the city can't "cherry pick" grant recipients.
Because provincial law prevents municipalities from offering other financial incentives, such community improvement plans are one of the few tools the city has to promote economic development, municipal officials say.
Council has decided to put off a cost-benefit analyis of the community improvement program until 2023.
The Orléans community improvement plan goes to the finance and economic development committee July 6, rising to city council the next day.