The City of Regina has made changes to its Heritage Building Rehabilitation Program.
The changes include:
- Formalizing a single intake for applications each year to allow for prioritization and establishment of an external committee (Incentive Review Panel) to review applications and make recommendations to administration
- Significant expansion of use of cash grants to incentivize conservation
- New eligibility criteria include all properties, not just those that are tax-exempt
- Budget is increased from $30,000 annually to $150,000 approved in the 2022 Budget,
and $250,000 beginning in 2023, subject to budget approval
- Expansion of eligibility criteria for all incentives to include Heritage Inventory properties, at a
a lower level of funding or percentage of total eligible costs - Addition of maintenance grants that support routine work that will prevent deterioration
Mayor Sandra Masters said she feels the most significant change is removing the grading system to the program.
“It used to be a grade one or a two that made the list, and now they are actually looking at it in a much lesser ridget sort of format,” she said. “It reinstates the advisory committee which I think the council members that have served, they were perhaps missing that.”
“It’s very difficult for council to go against owners that don’t want their property to be deemed heritage, and so having somebody who is working with heritage, who actually have an increase in funding for helping and assisting with maintenance and saving certain elements of it, I think that’s really good news for council, and I think it is actually really good news for heritage and the City,” she continued.
