HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSD-18-011 - Brownfield Remediation Program Application 1011 Homer Watson BlvdREPORT TO: Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: April 30, 2018
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Bennett, Manager, Business Development, 519-741-2200 X 7230
PREPARED BY: Rob Morgan, Capital Investment Advisor, 519-741-2200 X7734
WARD (S) INVOLVED: 3
DATE OF REPORT: March 8, 2018
REPORT NO.: DSD-18-011
SUBJECT:Brownfield Remediation Program Application 1011 Homer Watson Blvd
__________________________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
Watson
Boulevard, received from 1869071 Ontario Inc. dated May 28, 2015 be approved, subject
; and,
That in exchange for a completed and filed Record of Site Condition for the subject
property, the owner will be provided a phased tax incremental grant on the phased
redevelopment of the property in the form of an annual rebate on City taxes in an
amount equal to 100% of the City Tax Increment applied on the basis of the Block
parcels of land created by the Plan of Subdivision; and,
That the City Tax Increment be defined as the difference between the City portion of real
property taxes for the 2015 taxation year and the new City portion of real property taxes
levied as a result of a new assessment by the Municipal Property Assessment
Corporation (MPAC) determined for each Block following completion of the
redevelopment of each Block, as compensation for the remediation of the above subject
property; and,
That the maximum annual City property tax grant is estimated at $773,953.00
That the Region of Waterloo be circulated a copy of any decision made by Kitchener
City Council regarding this application; and further,
That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute an Agreement, satisfactory to the
City Solicitor, with the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and 1869071 Ontario Inc., to
implement the provisions of the Brownfield Remediation Program for 1011 Homer
Watson Blvd, as outlined in the Development Services Report Report DSD-18-011.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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BACKGROUND:
In May 2015, the City of Kitchener and Region of Waterloo received a joint Tax Increment
Grant (TIG) application from 1869071 Ontario Inc. regarding the remediation and
redevelopment of the property municipally known as 1011 Homer Watson Boulevard (Map
Attachment 1).The 78 acre property, located on the south-east corner of the intersection of
Bleams Road and Homer Watson Boulevard, was historically used as an auto parts
manufacturing facility. The property was developed with a 1.2 million square foot
manufacturing facility constructed in several phases beginning in 1967 until the late 1970s.
Based on a detailed assessment of the remediation informati
environmental consultant, a total of $7,787,000.00 in direct remediation costs are considered
eligible for this TIG. With a 10 percent allowance for incidental costs afforded under the
program, the total joint TIG before deductions, if any, is $8,565,700.00.
The applicant is subdividing the property into 11 development blocks ranging in size from 3.2
acres to 25 acres for a total of 67.5 developable acres. Of the 67.5 acres, the property use is
currently broken down as follows: 25 acres retail, 3.7 acres of office and 38.8 acres industrial.
REPORT:
Contamination and Remediation
The Environmental Consultant for this project is MTE. As part of the brownfield redevelopment
process MTE conducted Phase One and Phase Two Environmental Site Assessments (ESA),
followed by a Risk Assessment. All environmental assessments and remediation activities
proceeded in accordance with Ontario Regulation 153/04 (as amended), which will ultimately
conclude with a Record(s) of Site Condition (RSCs) for the property.
The comprehensive testing on the property identified contamination in the soil and
groundwater that include the following:
Petroleum Hydrocarbons (PHCs);
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs);
Metals
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs); and
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Site remediation activities include a combination of Risk Assessment to develop property
specific standards and remediation of remaining exceedances in the soil and groundwater.
Various techniques include soil excavation and disposal, soil embankment and capping, and
groundwater treatment.
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Eligible Environmental Remediation Costs
The applicant has submitted estimated environmental remediation costs for the 78 acre site of
$7,787,000.00. This amount, plus a 10% allowance for indirect costs afforded under the joint
TIG program of $778,700.00 results in a maximum eligible joint TIG of $8,565,700.00. The
TIG would be cost-shared between the Region of Waterloo and the City of Kitchener. Grant
in the year the application was submitted (2015) with approximately 62.1% (maximum
$5,321,422) provided by the Region and the remaining 37.9% (maximum $3,244,278) provided
by the City of Kitchener. As this is a phased TIG application with up to 11 phases,the
payments from the City and Region would not commence until each phase is remediated,
redeveloped and reassessed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).
Payment for the first phase(s) would not commence until 2020 at the earliest.
At the time of this report, the applicant has not submitted a Regional Development Charge
(RDC) Exemption application under the Brownfield Financial Incentive Program, but the
opportunity to apply for assistance under this program does exist. If the Region receives an
RDC Exemption application, the amount of any relief provided under that program is
subtracted from the total amount of the TIG, on a block-by-block basis. The impact of a
successful RDC Exemption will result in a lower TIG maximum and ultimately, lower the TIG
payouts for both the City and Region. Region staff will advise if an RDC Exemption application
is made, and any payouts by the Region under this program will be inserted into the TIG
calculations to ensure that no duplication of payouts occurs.
Phasing of the Tax Incremental Grant
Due to the size of the property and the fact that the developer is selling off each block, the
Applicant has requested an 11 phase TIG based off of the 11 blocks created within the Plan of
Subdivision (see attachment 2). The annual payments for each phase would not start until after
the property is remediated, redeveloped and reassessed by the Municipal Property
Assessment Corporation (MPAC). The developer would not be eligible to receive any
payments from the City until the developer has paid taxes at the new rate for one year after
redevelopment.
The 11 TIG payouts range in duration from two years to just over six years and range in payout
value from approximately $26,000 to $337,000 per year. The payouts can occur concurrently
and at no time would exceed the maximum annual payout of $773,953.00. This scenario is
unlikely, as it would only occur if all 11 blocks were developed within a similar timeframe.
Each TIG agreement for each phase will terminate the earlier of:
1) The total TIG is received
2) The applicant has received 10 annual TIG payments
3) The remediation and redevelopment of the lands is not within the 15 year Phasing
Period defined as follows:
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The 15 year phasing period will begin on the date both City and Regional Councils have
approved the TIG (the 15 year Phasing Period).
While the typical approach is to terminate the TIG after 10 years, a 15 year phasing period was
used due to the size of the property for redevelopment at 67.5 acres.The remediation costs
have been allocated proportionately over the entire developable area of the site. This will
ensure all lots are developed as they will not receive the grant allocation until the block has
been redeveloped.
Existing Assessment and Taxes
The total 2015 industrial assessment for the property (pre-redevelopment) was $8,000,000.
Based on this value the total municipal property taxes were $108,086.00 split as follows:
City of Kitchener $40,939.00 (37.9% tax share)
Region of Waterloo $67,147.00 (62.1% tax share)
Projected Assessment and Taxes
The subject property is being subdivided into 11 developable blocks predominantly industrial,
with a portion dedicated to commercial and office use. The total estimated post redevelopment
assessment value is approximately $111,470,000.00
Using the 2015 Tax Rates, the projected annual Municipal Taxes (City and Region) following
full redevelopment of all 11 blocks would be approximately $2,151,510.00, split as follows:
City of Kitchener $814,892.00
Region of Waterloo $1,336,618.00
Based on this projection, the (i.e. the difference between the
existing City tax level and the future City tax level) once the property is fully developed is
estimated at $773,953.00 ($814,892.00-$40,939.00).
The Regional Tax Increment once the property is fully developed is estimated at
$1,269,471.00 ($1,336,618.00-$67,147.00).
Table 1 identifies the preliminary estimated payment period should all phases be developed at
once (worst case scenario). The final joint TIG grant payment schedule will not be confirmed
until the actual remediation costs are reviewed and the MPAC assessment is received
following the redevelopment of each of the blocks. Regardless of the actual remediation costs,
3,244,278.
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Table 1
LD tğǤƒĻƓƷ {ĭŷĻķǒƌĻ
Area
Year Municipality Region Total TIG
1 773,953 1,269,471 2,043,424
2 697,985 1,144,867 1,842,852
3 645,809 1,059,284 1,705,093
4 494,825 811,636 1,306,461
5 308,168 505,472 813,640
6 308,168 505,472 813,640
7 15,370 25,220 40,590
8 0 0 0
9 0 0 0
10 0 0 0
Total
TIG $ 3,244,278 $ 5,321,422 $ 8,565,700
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
vision
through the delivery of core service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The approval of this application will obligate the City of Kitchener to provide a total municipal
property tax rebate estimated to be a maximum of $3,244,278.00 payable on a phased basis
upon redevelopment and reassessment of each of the 11 phases of this development.
The 11 TIG payouts range in duration from two years to just over six years. The range in
payout value for the blocks is approximately $26,000 to $337,000 per year. The payouts can
occur concurrently and at no time would exceed the maximum annual payout of $773,953.00.
This scenario is unlikely, as it would only occur if the entire property, all 11 blocks were
developed within a similar timeframe.
Funding for this application has already been anticipated and accounted for in the Brownfield
Capital Account. The source of funding for these grants is ultimately the new tax assessment
growth that will result from redevelopment.
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM
council/committee meeting.
This Application has not been circulated to the public. Staff would note that this approval
applies only to the City of Kitchener portion of the proposed Tax Incremental Grant. The
Region of Waterloo Council will consider its portion of this application at a future date.
CONCLUSION:
Regional Staff and The Brownfield Steering Committee, (
Investment Advisor, Director of Revenue, City Solicitor, and Director of Planning), reviewed the
application and are satisfied that the application meets the eligibility and application
requirements. Staff support acceptance within the terms and conditions of the Region of
Waterloo City of Kitchener Brownfield Remediation Program.
Approval of this TIG enables the cleanup and redevelopment of significant employment lands
in the city, and will enable the future growth of new buildings, companies and employment in
Southwest Kitchener.
Enclosures: 1) Overview of Site
2) Draft Plan of Subdivision
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:Justin Readman, General Manager, Development Services
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Enclosure 1
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Enclosure 2
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