I recently attended a presentation on Ontario’s Certified Site Program at the Windsor Essex Development Commission. The Presentation was made by Ms. Carrie Manchuk, Project Manager for Investment Ready: Certified Site Program a Ontario Government Project.
Ms. Manchuck presented a new Ontario Government program designed to promote investment in Ontario. Site Certification has become common place in North America and is designed to reduce uncertainties for investors and speed up the site selection process.
The Government is providing funding to assist qualifying industrial zoned sites in becoming Certified. Owners must apply to see if they qualify to become Site Certified, and there is deadlines for application. The Ontario Site Certified Program only applies to industrial sites that are 10 Acres or more. This eliminates the majority of available sites in Windsor and Essex County. However the structure and requirements of becoming site certified are examples all property owners and developers should take note of.
With the intent of luring Companies from around the world to Ontario. The Ontario Government has produced a database of approximately 1600 site prospectors / investment brokers from around the world. The Ontario Government intends to market the Site Certified Sites to these site prospectors. By having sites pre-qualified or certified, it is hoped investors and companies will not overlook Ontario as a place to invest. As investors look at many sites and locations, it is very helpful if a site prospector / broker has as much preliminary information as possible when including or excluding a site as a potential place to invest. The idea is to get all the information in one place that can be accessed in just a couple of minutes.
The Ontario Government is offering financial assistance to qualifying sites that wish to become site certified.
As a commercial realtor, I prepare much of this information for a listing, and can assist clients in applying for Site Certification. Buckingham Realty is now producing custom websites which will feature much of this information, at a quick glance ie. www.4000rhodes.com
The Windsor Essex Development Commission can also assist in providing available skilled employment, demographics and other area specific reports.
Some of the Basic information needed to apply include:
Minimum 10 Acre Site
Aerial Photo
Site Location / Context Map
Title Search
Existing Property Survey/Registered Site Plan
Tax Assessment Map
Current Zoning
Environmental Report including weather property is in a flood zone, or has potential to be contaminated
Availability of Services Water, Gas, Electricity, Communication (including capacities)
Access to Transportation: Road, Highway, Rail, Air, Water
Proximity to Border
Potential Development Constraints including any Heritage designations
Other Additional Information that may be required includes:
Title Opinion or Insurance
Planning Report
Phase 1 Environmental
Phase 2 Environmental
Archaeological Assessment
Natural Heritage Assessment / Environmental Investigation
Species at risk Assessment
Functional Servicing Report
Technical Heritage Studies
Appraisal
For More Information Visit:
https://www.ontario.ca/business-and-economy/investment-ready-certified-site
Benefits
You can receive up to 50% of your eligible expenses back per site. The maximum reimbursement is $25,000 per site.
Investment ready sites also benefit from:
- an international marketing campaign aimed at the site selection community
- a profile on www.InvestinOntario.com
- promotion at key global real estate, site selection and investment attraction events