GrantOntarioProperty Development

ERASE Redevelopment Grant (ERG) Program

The program aims to provide tax increment-based grants to cover the costs of remediating historical environmental contamination on brownfield sites, facilitating their redevelopment and reuse.

Offered by Invest in Hamilton

Amount

Up to 80% or 100% of the municipal tax uplift for up to 10 or 13 years, varying by type of development

Quick eligibility check

Years in business

No minimum stated

Employees

No limit stated

Revenue

No limit stated

Legal structure

No requirement stated

Location

Ontario

Who can apply

Grants under the Program may be provided through one of two streams based on consideration of the project as a Brownfield Development or an Enhanced Brownfield Development. For the purposes of this Program, a Brownfield Development is one that remediates the environmental condition of a site and increases the municipal property taxes generated as a result of remediation and redevelopment. An Enhanced Brownfield Development is the same as a Brownfield Development, but which also achieve one of the following additional priorities:

Successfully obtains a certification for the achievement of environmental sustainability

standards from an eligible organization/program;

Will connect to (or be designed to allow for future connection to) a district energy

system where a current or future connection is deemed feasible by the City;

Is approved for financial assistance under a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

(CMHC), Federal, Provincial or City program for the purposes of incorporating new residential rental housing that supports housing affordability within the city.

Applications to this Program must meet the goals of the Environmental Remediation and

Site Enhancement Community Improvement Plan (ERASE CIP).

This Program will apply within the Historically Developed Area as defined through the

ERASE CIPA By-law.

An Applicant to this Program must be the registered owner of the site with grants only

payable to the successful Program Applicant and cannot be assigned or directed to any other payee unless otherwise provided for in the Program Administration section herein.

Prior to any application approval and/or Grant payment being provided:
Any outstanding Building Code, Fire Code or property standards orders or any

other order applicable to the site by any judicial, governmental or regulatory authority shall be rectified; and

Any tax arrears on the subject site shall be paid.
Environmental sustainability certifications eligible under this Program for consideration of

a development as an Enhanced Brownfield Development are: Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA) Net Zero Home Labelling where Net Zero or Net Zero Ready levels of efficiency are achieved; Passive House Canada; Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) R2000; Built Green to a Gold or higher standard in the Energy and Envelope category; or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) to a Gold or higher standard or Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) Zero Carbon Building Standards.

The required building components with respect to achieving District Energy Readiness for

consideration as an Enhanced Brownfield Development, where such a connection is deemed feasible by the City, shall consist of the following:

Provision of space for the sole purpose of future equipment and thermal piping;
Securement of an easement between the mechanical room and the property line

to allow for thermal piping; and

Inclusion of two-way pipes in the building to carry the thermal energy from the

district energy network to the section in the building where the future energy transfer station will be located.

The inclusion of such building components shall be subject to confirmation by a Building Inspector or other means at the discretion, and to the satisfaction of, the General Manager of Planning and Economic Development (GM).

With respect to remediation of contaminated soil/groundwater, as a condition of Grant

payment, the Applicant shall be required to:

Successfully file a Record of Site Condition (RSC) to the Ministry of Environment,

Conservation and Parks (MECP), prepared by a Qualified Person, that conforms to Ontario Regulation 153/04 and applicable Site Condition Standards (SCS) required for the development/use and submit to the City an Acknowledgement of receipt of the RSC by the MECP; or

Where the filing of an RSC is not required under the Environmental Protection Act

to permit the development/use notwithstanding the confirmed presence of contamination that would not otherwise meet the applicable SCS for the planned development/use, and provided the Applicant undertakes a Risk Assessment and remediates the site to a standard that would have otherwise enabled the Applicant to submit a RSC, the Applicant may instead provide the City with a Risk Assessment prepared by a Qualified Person which shall be subject to a peer- review by a Qualified Person for Risk Assessment, chosen by the City and at the Applicant’s expense (permitted as an eligible cost). This peer-review must certify that the site has been remediated to the applicable SCS for the planned development/use in accordance with the Risk Assessment and Ontario Regulation 153/04, to the satisfaction of the City.

The City reserves the right to require that the submission of the RSC, MECP Acknowledgement, Risk Assessment and supporting environmental reports and documentation be submitted to the City’s satisfaction.

About the funding

Varies based on the type of development. The grant covers up to 80% or 100% of the municipal tax uplift for up to 10 or 13 years.

As a tax increment-based program, the ERG Program provides Grants relative to the actual increase in municipal property taxes that are generated as a result of a site being remediated and redeveloped. Grants are provided after development completion over a maximum term as described in Table 1 herein or until eligible Program costs contained in Section C have been recovered, whichever comes first.

The prescribed Grant terms under the Brownfield Development and Enhanced Brownfield Development streams are described in Table 1 below:

Table 1 – Prescribed Grant Parameters:

Show all funding details

Brownfield Developments and Enhanced Brownfield Developments Enhanced Brownfield Brownfield Development Development the transportation and disposal of 80% 80% Maximum contaminated soil at a licensed landfill facility Eligible *In-situ or Risk Assessment remediation Costs methods or the transportation and treatment 100% 100% Permitted of contaminated soil so as to enable reuse For: all other environmental remediation and DSHM 80% 100% eligible costs unless otherwise specified Maximum Potential Annual Grant Payments 10** 13** Maximum Annual Grant as a Percentage of Actual Tax 80%*** 100% Increment Realized

Eligible remediation methods will demonstrate a reduced overall environmental impact versus dig

and dump remediation with such determination being at the sole discretion of the City.

** Or until eligible remediation costs have been recovered, whichever comes first.

***The remaining 20% increase in the annual municipal tax increment not provided to the Applicant under the Brownfield Development stream shall be directed to a City fund for use in the provision of grants and other initiatives under the ERASE Municipal Acquisition and Partnership (EMAP) and/or ERASE Affordable Housing Grant (EAHG) Programs for the duration of the Applicant’s Grant term up to a maximum of 20% of the value of the total Grant to be provided.

The total Grant provided over the maximum applicable term of this Program shall not

exceed the actual eligible costs incurred or the maximum Grant approved by City Council, whichever is less.

Estimated costs for soil/groundwater remediation?(Required)

Not including any costs which would have been required for the development regardless of the presence of contamination.

Estimated costs for environmental studies and environmental consultant fees?(Required)

Only those costs not already reimbursed under the ERASE Study Grant Program.

Estimated costs for the abatement/removal of designated substance and hazardous materials?(Required)

Only eligible for sites 1) located in Sub-Area 1 - Older Industrial Areas; 2) containing current/closed institutional buildings 3) containing a building designated under Part IV or V of the Ontario Heritage Act or 4) being developed for not-for-profit housing.

Estimated costs for the achievement of an eligible environmental sustainability certification or to incorporate eligible District Energy Readiness building components?(Required)

Estimated costs for demolition of existing buildings?(Required)

Only for sites located in Sub-Area 1 - Older Industrial Areas planned for a non-residential developments.

Estimated costs for on-site infrastructure upgrades?(Required)