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Incentive Program Sparks Downtown Development
The four year, $4.5 million Downtown Incentive Program is starting to bear fruit.
Indicators show the Downtown Development Incentive program is starting to gain ground with investors in the downtown core.
The four-year, $1.5 million incentive got off to a slow start last year, but in its second year, Development Officer Keith Crush said he's already seeing increased interest. "There's been some discussions that I've had in the last month and a half," he said. "There's some real interest in some properties downtown, some real interest in doing some projects." Some of the recent plans include the purchase of the Medicine Hat Inn and cinema buildings on 4th Street, new commercial operations for the old Panago Pizza and gas station on 1st Street, as well as other projects slated for 2nd and 3rd Street.
Crush said the idea of the incentive program is to help property owners and investors deal with the many challenges that come with investing in an older downtown core. "What we were hearing from people was the economics of developing a building or re-doing a building are tough to make."
There are five different elements under the incentive program, and Crush believes the 10-year, interest-free loan to a maximum of $100,000, seems to be the most popular to investors.
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