Bradford’s downtown will see some renovations thanks, in part, to grant funding from the town.
On Tuesday night, council approved $25,071.28 in grants under the Downtown Community Improvement Plan (DCIP) for work on two separate properties.
While there was no debate over the $15,891.83 for 152 Holland St. E., the $9,179.45 for 27 Holland St. E. raised some concerns.
Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine expressed support for the DCIP program, but picked at some aspects of the application, including: flooring replacement, new trim installation, painting and debris removal.
“To me, that’s all cost of business. I have a hard time supporting this one. Anybody who opens a new business is expected to put money into the business,” Ferragine said.
The grant included $900 under Program 1: Building Exterior Grant Program, and $8,279.45 under Program 2: Building Interior Grant Program.
The applicant, Corey Quinlan, is proposing to upgrade the interior into a modern office space for a Desjardins Insurance location, with work expected to include new floors, removing a non-load bearing wall and opening a doorway, electrical wiring, painting the entire unit and full replacement of a built-in kitchen. They also expect to replace the exterior sign and paint the entryway and doors.
Michael Kemp, marketing co-ordinator for the town, explained the new owner of the building was attracted to the space specifically because the DCIP was available.
In his report to council, Kemp estimated the structure was built before 1930, and said the interior shows signs of significant wear, unlevel floors, cramped spaces and mismatched cuts to most of the doorways — likely from the original construction methods.
“This really focuses on improvement of buildings. We want improvement of the structure, but we also want improvement of the leaseability of these facilities,” Kemp said during council. “Does it make an overall improvement to this old stock of building? In my estimation, it does. Had this been an application just to paint the interior and clean it up a little bit, I wouldn’t bring that forward.”
Ferragine worried that if the building sees high turnover, new owners could regularly be making DCIP applications to council, but Kemp clarified that approved grant amounts are deducted from the total amount available for subsequent applications for each property.
Kemp’s report notes that the building was already subject to a previous grant application by former tenant Guy Abergel in 2019, and the successful application included a grant of $1,239 for exterior work and $2,350 for interior work.
According to Kemp’s report, the two-storey building with commercial on the ground floor and residential above, has been home to a number of businesses over the years, including a tattoo parlour, hair salon, aesthetics studio and barber shop.
Quinlan estimates the total cost of the renovations to be $18,358.90, with the remaining $9,179.45 to be their responsibility.
“If this meets the criteria, it’s only fair to approve it,” Ward 3 Coun. Ben Verkaik said.
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper echoed that sentiment and added, “We are looking at our downtown and it is hurting. We need to do what we can to support it.”
The grant for 152 Holland St. E. totalled $15,891.83, with $15,000 under Program 1: Building Exterior Grant Program, and $891.83 under Program 3: Fees and Permits Grant Program.
The applicant, Brayden Ingoglia, is proposing to upgrade the rusting green awning and accompanying facade elements to a new, more durable slate-grey awning along the front of the building. Known as The Bradford Shoppes, it is a two-storey plaza encompassing about 40 metres along Holland Street East.
The plaza is home to several businesses, including a bulk food and health supplements store, a chiropractic office, a dental office, dry cleaners and more.
Ingoglia estimates the total cost of the renovations to be $63,734, with the remaining $47,842.17 to be their responsibility.
“I’m going to support this one. It’s a four-to-one public versus private funding application, so it’s a good one,” Mayor James Leduc said.
“I think both of these CIP applications for the downtown are exactly in line with what the program is supposed to do,” Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott said.
