Local chamber seeks provincial help to revive vacant local properties
With vacant buildings dotting the landscape throughout the Windsor area, the local chamber is spearheading a proposal to convince the Ontario government to create a new funding program to support private investment in blighted properties.
The Reinvest in our Communities program would be modelled after the successful Michigan Strategic Fund across the border which has played a role in helping revitalize Detroit and other major cities across the state, said Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Matt Marchand. “Private money mixed with provincial money, especially for blighted, vacant or obsolete properties, may be just that extra little shove to make them viable again,” he said.
The proposal — also backed by the Sarnia-Lambton, KitchenerWaterloo and Kingston chambers — will be front and centre for discussion when the Ontario Chamber of Commerce holds its annual general meeting Thursday through Saturday in Hamilton. Community improvement plans put in place by several municipalities across the province, including Windsor, can only do so much, so a similar provincial government program should be launched as the next step to encourage private sector investment in aging vacant properties — in many cases historical structures, Marchand said. He cited projects bolstered by the Michigan Strategic Fund in Detroit, including a $1-million grant for a new community kitchen at Eastern Market which created 36 jobs, plus a $5.8-million loan to help restore a downtown historic firehouse into a boutique hotel that resulted in 100 new jobs. Under the MSF, projects selected by a board of directors are eligible for up to $10 million in low-interest loans or up to $1.5 million in grants which are not to exceed 25 per cent of the total investment. “We looked at the success in Detroit and other communities and we saw a chance to adopt best practices in Michigan and bring it over here,” Marchand said. “We know there are (local) community improvement plans, but we need to get more aggressive in communities to drive redevelopment in neighbourhoods.” Should the program be adopted at the annual general meeting it would become chamber policy — notable since the provincial election is just around the corner, Marchand said.
“We will bring it forward for the candidates to discuss,” he said. Another issue that the local chamber will raise at the annual general meeting is the Select for Success program which connects employers with newcomers to this country.
It is geared to rural communities and small cities which often struggle to attract or retain sufficient workers in some sectors of their economies.