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The City of Cambridge provides local property owners with financial support through various incentive programs. These programs help reduce costs of development projects and help with improvements to sites and buildings by providing financial assistance for:
- Heritage properties
- Employment lands
- Core areas properties and buildings
- Financial Incentives
Core Areas Financial Incentives
Cambridge has three historic core areas:
- Galt City Centre
- Preston Towne Centre
- Hespeler Village
The City offers Core Areas Financial Incentives to help improve and further develop these core areas. These financial incentive programs help property owners develop, preserve, beautify and enhance our core areas so all residents, visitors and business owners can benefit from them.
Contact Invest Cambridge (e-mail: Invest@cambridge.ca or phone: (519) 740 - 4685) for more information about our Core Areas Incentives.
| 1. Commercial Property Improvement Grant Program (CPIG) |
| The Commercial Property Improvement Grant Program is intended to provide financial assistance for commercial property owners/authorized tenants within the Core Areas as identified within the Official Plan. The Program aims to improve upon the appearance of commercial properties, support commercial property/business owners with limited rehabilitation of interior space and assist in creating a barrier free and accessible environment.
Buildings that have a linear foot street frontage of 25 feet or less (25’), grants will be paid on a matching 50/50 basis to a maximum of $15,000 for eligible work under the Program.
Buildings that have a linear foot street frontage greater than twenty-five feet (25’), grants will be paid on a matching basis of $600 per linear foot of street frontage up to a maximum of $25,000 for eligible work under the Program.
As a further incentive for corner properties the City will increase the maximum grant amount to $30,000, on a similar matching basis for eligible work under the Program to recognize the importance of flankage facades. The grant amount will be determined by the measurement of the street frontage and the measurement of the corner/exposed wall multiplied by $600 per linear foot.
An additional $5,000 will be added to the maximum funding for each item listed below:
This brings a maximum funding amount of any property to $45,000.
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| 2. Commercial Building Restoration, Renovation and Improvement Grant Program (CBRRIG) |
| This grant has the potential to leverage significant private sector investment in interior building renovations and improvements, and help address the costs involved with renovations.
This program is restricted to the conversion of vacant, residential, or underutilized space to use as: a restaurant, market or Place of Assembly related to arts, culture, and/or recreation or rehabilitation of existing, or conversion of space for commercial use.
The program will be matching grants of up to 50% of eligible costs up to a maximum grant amount. If the building is a single commercial floor, the grant amount will be $50,000 per property. If the building is two or more floors of commercial use, the grant amount will be up to $100,000 per property.
The maximum grant may increase by $5,000 for the inclusion of enhanced accessibility elements. This will bring the total maximum funding amount to $105,000.
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| 3. Mixed Use Conversion and Restoration Grant Program (MUCRG) |
| The Mixed Use Conversion and Restoration Grant Program is aimed at attracting new investment and interest in converting currently non-residential vacant or underutilized upper storey space to residential units and renovating the existing commercial space located below by providing a financial incentive that will be targeted at the costs of converting the space. It is intended to stimulate the creation of new residential units on the upper storeys of existing mixed use buildings and renovating or restoring ground floor commercial occupancies.
The Commercial Restoration portion of the matching grant will be up to 50% of eligible costs up to a grant of $50,000 per property. The maximum grant may increase by $2,500 for the inclusion of enhanced accessibility elements to $52,500 per property.
The Residential Conversion portion of the Grant Program will consist of a grant, whereby property owners will be eligible to receive a grant of up to $10,000 for every new residential unit created or every unit that has been vacant on the upper floors of an existing mixed use building, up to a grant of $100,000 per property. The maximum grant may increase by $2,500 per unit for the creation of accessible residential units up to a maximum of $125,000 per property.
The total amount combined of the grant of the eligible costs is up to a maximum grant of $150,000 per property. The total amount for projects that include accessible residential units as well as enhanced accessibility elements on the ground floor is a maximum grant of $177,500 per property.
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| 4. Core Areas Waiver of Application Fees |
| The following application fees may be waived if applications are for properties that are located within the Core areas as defined in the Official Plan. This waiver will only be applicable to mixed used, commercial and high density housing, and will not be for single detached homes.
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| 5. Tax Increase-based Equivalent Grant Program (TIEG) |
| The Tax Increase-based Equivalent Grant Program offers grants to eligible applicants whose City property tax has increased as a result of the planning or replanning, design or redesign, resubdivision, clearance, development or redevelopment, reconstruction and rehabilitation of a property within one of the designated Community Improvement Project Areas, resulting in the incremental improvement of the built character of these areas.
Property taxes for the City of Cambridge are calculated by the following ratio:
Annual grants may be equal to 75% of the City’s portion of the property tax increase. The development must meet and incorporates exemplary design standards and contributes to maintaining the heritage character of the Community Improvement Project Area.
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Central Transit Corridor Financial Incentives
The Transit Oriented Development Community Improvement Plan (TOD CIP) along with the Transit Oriented Development Grant (TODG) Program, was endorsed by City Council on February 28, 2023.
The TOD Grant (TODG) Program is part of the City’s efforts to increase transit ridership in preparation for Stage 2 ION light rail transit (LRT).
The program is designed to encourage transit-oriented developments along the Central Transit Corridor (CTC) and major transit stations areas within the city, to improve the pedestrian experience and to support other modes of transportation such as cycling.
| Transit-Oriented Development Grant Program (TODG) |
| Interested applicants can apply for a one-time grant of up to $30,000 to add improvements to their site, such as: bicycle racks, indoor secure bicycle parking, benches, sidewalks, digital screens displaying transit times etc.
View the Transit Oriented Development Community Improvement Plan View the TODG Information Package and Application Form
Check if you are in the CIP Project Area by entering your address below:
Contact transportation@cambridge.ca for more information. |
City-wide Financial Incentives
The City of Cambridge also offers city-wide financial incentive programs.
| Tax Increment Grant Program (TIG) |
| The TIG Program provides tax grants to help property owners with the remediation and redevelopment of contaminated sites. This program provides a grant equal to the full amount, or a portion of the amount, of the property tax increase after a property is redeveloped and reassessed. The City uses the difference in taxes between the pre-remediated and redeveloped site to provide a grant to the applicant for some costs related to environmental remediation. Complete the TIG Application Form to apply for this program. Contact the Senior Planner, Reurbanization for more information. |
| Heritage Grant Program |
| The Heritage Grant Program provides financial assistance to owners of designated heritage structures for conservation and restoration. Property owners may qualify for a grant of up to half the cost of the work completed to conserve the heritage elements of the building, up to a maximum of $5,000 per calendar year. Contact the Planner - Heritage at (519) 621-0740 ext. 4788 for more information about the Heritage Grant Program. |
| Employment Land Development Charge Reduction |
| The Economic Development Division provides an Employment Land Development Charge Reduction for new buildings or additions on properties within specific designated employment lands, such as the Boxwood Business Campus. Contact the Economic Development Division for more information about this program. |
| Development Charge Exemptions |
| The City of Cambridge Development Charge By-law also provides Development Charge Exemptions for various types of properties located citywide, including:
Call the Development Charges Coordinator at (519) 621-0740 ext. 4271 for more information. |
View our Financial Incentives Brochure to learn more.