The following article appeared in the April 5 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
The City of Guelph is close to moving ahead with a plan to provide up to $100,000 so downtown building owners can improve the exterior appearance of their buildings.
A public meeting is set for Tuesday at City Hall where council will consider the approval of the Downtown Guelph Community Improvement Plan.
“It’s basically a financial program to encourage downtown property owners to invest in their buildings,” said Ward 2 councillor Ian Findlay.
“Property owners would have to match the grants dollar for dollar, but there’s definitely interest by property owners in doing this,” he said.
That plan calls for up to 10 separate grants of up to $10,000 each be provided to qualified building owners to improve or restore their building facades, signage and awnings. Qualified owners would have to match the city grants out of their own pockets.
How many building owners and how much money they are willing to spend remains to be seen, Findlay said, adding this program is “all part of the grand plan for downtown.”
If you fix up the buildings, people will feel better overall about the community, he added.
“The idea is to raise the street appeal. Parts of downtown are getting a little tired and tatty,” said fellow Ward 1 councillor Bob Bell.
“It was successful in Kitchener. Their downtown got gussied up through a similar program.”
The move is a one-year pilot project that is part of the bigger Downtown Action Plan. The money for the plan comes from the 2009 city operating budget.
Up to five separate grants of $5,000 are also available for building owners to get estimates on how much it will cost to upgrade their buildings.
City hall gets final say on any improvements.
Criteria for the improvements include making sure it is sympathetic to the original design, respects the heritage, are authentic and of high quality.
The program will be assessed at year’s end.
“We fully intend — if the pilot project goes well — that we would have additional programs and money in the future,” Findlay said.
The meeting takes place in council chambers beginning at 7 p.m.