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Businesses cash in on Orangeville façade program grants

February 19, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

A report to Orangeville council shows that community improvement grants need an increase in dollars to keep up with higher construction costs.

A 2025 Community Improvement Plan (CIP) summary report included suggestions for promotional efforts to attract new businesses, expanding priority zones, increasing collaboration between municipal committees with similar mandates, and considering future amendments to the funding amounts stated in the CIP.

“Feedback received from applicants and CIP committee members suggests some of the maximum eligible grant amounts are too low compared to current construction costs,” according to a report to council.

Limiting grant amounts per project helps maintain fair, equitable availability to as many eligible projects as possible without negatively impacting the CIP reserve fund.

The plan, adopted in July 2022, includes eight incentive programs that support private-sector investments in revitalization projects to advance municipal economic development objectives.

The CIP is monitored annually to assess program uptake and the scale of private sector investment leveraged by grant awards. It also helps evaluate program effectiveness.

Last year was the CIP’s second year and yielded seven grant applications that were approved. The majority of applications were for façade improvement projects in downtown.

Grants last year totalled $83,187 toward eligible costs for approved projects.

Nine grants were awarded in 2024, totalling $87,822 in committed funding for eligible improvement projects.

CIP recommends an interim review of the plan in Year 3 to determine whether each program has met the goals and objectives and to assess the effectiveness of the committee and staff in administering and marketing the program.

A more detailed review of the plan is to occur in Year 5.

The report to council indicates that staff feel there has been effective uptake of the key CIP incentive programs through the first two full years of implementation.

Interest in the program this year will determine if additional promotion or program changes are needed, according to the report.

“This has benefitted a number of businesses from an economic development perspective,” Councillor Joe Andrews said.

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