Ontario Construction News staff writer
The City of Orillia presented more than $81,000 worth of grants to four new projects in the City’s core through the final intake of the 2020 Downtown Tomorrow Community Improvement Plan (DTCIP) grant program.
“The Downtown Tomorrow grant program is one way in which the City of Orillia continues to support local business and property owners during this difficult time,” said Mayor Steve Clarke.
“Over the past year so much of what we know as normal has been disrupted or changed. Even in the face of COVID, we have seen some wonderful transformations in the core of the city, many of which were made possible because of the Downtown Tomorrow grant program. It is inspirational to see even more projects moving forward because of the grants.”
The DTCIP program includes financial incentives designed to stimulate development in the City’s core. The third and final intake of 2020 closed on Oct. 30, 2020. Grants awarded include façade improvements, building improvements for new commercial spaces, and grants to create two new residential units in downtown Orillia.
“Despite the impacts that COVID-19 has had on our economy we’ve held a record number of pre-consultations for development in the downtown,” said Laura Thompson, Senior Manager of Business Development.
“These four projects are a great representation of the development that this program can incentivize, featuring everything from renovations to accommodate a new entrepreneur to the complete restoration of an existing building to house new apartments and commercial units. It’s been a great year for this program.”
Grants awarded through the third intake were announced on Nov. 27, 2020, for properties located at:
169 Mississaga St. E. – $7,337
- My Moon Collective, a retail business in Orillia, will be adding new signage, doors, and windows to improve the visibility of the store, accessibility for customers, and overall visitor experience.
17-19 Mississaga St. W. – $52,500 (Henneveld Holdings Inc.)
- Façade, building improvements, and residential grant. Two commercial units on the main floor will be updated to include a refreshed salon and a retail store. The second storey will be converted from office space into two residential units.
73 Mississaga St. E. – $14,437.24 (Jeff Pitcher)
- Two new commercial office spaces are being developed on the second floor of the building by replacing flooring and the current HVAC system.
75 Mississaga St. E. – $7,225.00 (Jeff Pitcher)
- Façade improvements to restore the historic brick façade (Mississaga Street and Peter Street).
“My partner grew up in this town and loves the history and potential of Orillia. I’ve lived here for a little over three years and have grown to love this small city as well,” said Jesse Henneveld of Henneveld Holdings Inc.
“We bought the property downtown as an investment opportunity and also in hopes of building our small businesses. We were so excited about the announcement of the grant as we knew it would help us improve our project that much more. We are so thrilled to be chosen and cannot wait to start this project.”