Expect things to really heat up at this downtown Bradford barber shop.
Council approved $6,700 in Downtown Community Improvement Plan (DCIP) funding for Gradience Barber Shop at 19 Holland St. E., based on a report from Michael Kemp, marketing co-ordinator for the town, during the regular council meeting on Tuesday evening, Feb. 20.
That funding is intended to help partially cover, owner and applicant Rafid Yousif’s estimated $13,400 cost to install a heat pump and upgraded electrical system and comes as part of Program 2: Building Interior Grant, which covers as much as 50 per cent of the cost of upgrades to a maximum amount of $25,000.
Council approved the funding without discussion.
Yousif’s recent application comes in addition to $23,457.90 in DCIP funds council approved in June for the two-storey building that dates to 1957, with commercial units on the ground floor and apartments above. It is divided into two units, with Lee’s Tasty House Chinese restaurant on the west and the barber shop on the east, for which the DCIP application was submitted.
According to a report from Kemp, the previous funds were broken down into three parts:
- $8,307.90 under Program 1: Building Exterior Grant Program
- $14,400 under Program 2: Building Interior Grant Program
- $750 under Program 3: Permits and Fees Grant Program
According to the report, Yousif planned to upgrade the interior, including renovating the bathroom, installing new flooring, installing a new front doorway, replacing ceiling tiles, installing new lighting in the back hallway and upgrading all the electrical outlets.
The more recent report explains that originally, Yousif had also wanted to add a heating system and more electrical outlets, but needed additional funding, and with that funding now secured, made an additional application.
Originally created in 2012, the current grant-based version of the DCIP was approved by council in April 2022 with the goal of encouraging private investment in the downtown, especially in updating older buildings to help promote intensification, infill and redevelopment.
According to the report, the program had $469,767.53 worth of funding in reserve as of Jan. 1, 2024, and is expected to make $264,480.10 worth of payments for previously approved projects, leaving $232,668.10 available for the year, which is down to $189,609.35 after council approved this application and $36,358.75 for another.
In December, council approved putting the DCIP program on hiatus throughout 2024, meaning no new applications would be considered, but previously made applications could still proceed to come before council.
