Community Revitalization

Program Overview

The Community Revitalization program is a new and aggressive incentive program that can be offered by municipalities in partnership with Northern Development that is aimed at encouraging new development and redevelopment within central and northern BC communities. This innovative program is focused on providing an immediate financial incentive for developers that is significantly more attractive than any Revitalization Tax Exemption program currently available.

The goal of the Community Revitalization Program is to encourage developers to invest in downtown or community renewal projects including: new market and non-market housing, commercial and mixed use development, green development, and façade improvements.  The municipality has the ability to develop a Revitalization Tax Exemption bylaw that addresses it's unique vision for attracting investment and increasing the tax base of the community.

In communities where the municipality has partnered with Northern Development on this program, developers can choose to access a “revitalization tax exemption early benefit”, which is a lump sum payment aligned with the equivalent municipal tax exemption a developer would receive over the term of a standard revitalization tax exemption agreement.  By accessing the early benefit, the developer’s annual tax payments going forward during the life of the equivalent tax exemption period are returned to the municipality’s Northern Development funding allocation.

City of Prince George and Northern Development Partnership

In 2011, the City of Prince George entered into a partnership agreement with Northern Development, taking leadership as the initial municipality utilizing the Community Revitalization Program while also contributing to the program’s development.

“The City’s Proposed Downtown Incentives, in collaboration with Northern Development Initiative Trust, offers an innovative package of incentives for downtown development, that includes specific target areas like residential, commercial, green, and mixed use development, as well as façade improvements,” said Mayor Dan Rogers.

In 2011, the City of Prince George plans to update and improve its Revitalization Tax Exemption (RTE) policy to catalyze development. The new by-law will provide additional incentives to the current suite the City of Prince George promotes for City Centre development, including the new Downtown Incentives Program and RTE Early Benefit Program, a partnership with Northern Development under the Community Revitalization Program. 

“Downtown Prince George will become a more vibrant, livable heart of this community and we are pleased to be a partner in making that happen,” said Northern Development Chief Executive Officer Janine North. “Other communities across the region are intent on learning from Prince George’s success in working with this new program.”

Find Out More and Apply

Municipalities

Municipalities interested in learning more about this innovative community revitalization incentive should contact Northern Development directly.  An example draft agreement between Northern Development and a municipality as well as a draft agreement of a revitalization tax exemption early benefit agreement between a municipality and developer can be made available to local governments upon request.

Developers

As this program will be available initially to developers in Prince George, prospective developers looking to invest in Prince George should contact the City of Prince George directly for more information on the City of Prince George’s comprehensive suite of community and downtown development incentives.