NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF ORILLIA
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The City of Orillia Economic Development Department is hosting a workshop to share details about grants available through the 2018 Downtown Tomorrow Community Improvement Plan (DTCIP) Grant Program. The DTCIP Community Workshop will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, in the Tudhope-McIntyre Boardroom at the Orillia City Centre.
The DTCIP, now in its second year, encourages growth in Downtown Orillia by providing grants designed to stimulate development. Council recently approved $200,000 for the grant program in 2018, to offset costs related to façade improvements, signage, feasibility studies, building improvements and the creation of residential units.
“The City’s Downtown Tomorrow grant program was very successful in its first year,” said Mayor Steve Clarke. “We learned through the first few completed projects that for every dollar the City grants, an additional five dollars of private funds are invested in the downtown core.”
The City of Orillia Economic Development Department attributes the early success of the program to the extensive community consultation which took place during the program’s development.
“This program was built for Orillia, by Orillia business leaders, property owners, planners and real estate professionals,” said Laura Thompson, Manager of Real Estate and Commercial Development. “We used this local knowledge to build a score sheet which ensures that grants are provided to those projects which best enhance the downtown core.”
Community members are invited to attend the workshop to learn about the project application process, eligibility, timelines and more. This workshop is a great opportunity for potential applicants to fulfill their need for the “mandatory pre-consultation”, which is required in order to be eligible for the program.
The Downtown Tomorrow CIP presentation will begin promptly at 6:15 p.m. Registration is required and can be completed through the project webpage.
The first intake deadline for the 2018 DTCIP Grant Program is Feb. 28, 2018, and grant decisions will be announced prior to March 21, 2018.
The program was approved by Council in June 2016 after a year of development and public consultation. In addition to a number of public workshops, feedback was solicited from several development experts within the community, including downtown business and building owners, property appraisers, planners, and community development professionals.
The City of Orillia is a city of 31,000 people in the heart of Ontario’s Lake Country on the shores of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Visit our website.
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