Council approves $54.9k to upgrade Bradford city center church

Money may be seen as the root of all evil, but new funding is expected to bring more life to this Bradford church and city center businesses.

Council approved $54,925.30 in Downtown Community Improvement Plan (DCIP) funding for Greater Life Community Church located at 5 Holland St. W. based on a report by Michael Kemp, the city’s marketing coordinator, during the June 18 regular council meeting.

This funding is intended to help partially cover the Pastor Eaton Grant applicant’s $162,336.47 renovations to the commercial-zoned two-story building with second-floor apartments that was home to FK Textiles for approximately 36 years until when closing in spring 2020. it also hosted a farmers market and a Christmas market before remaining vacant for about two years until the church moved on 5 February 2023.

Section 7 Con. Peter Dykie said he is already seeing more people frequenting the town center to visit the church and hopes the “cash injection” they bring will help support smaller businesses such as restaurants.

Several councilors noted the important role the building could play as a rental space for community events, including Ward 3 Coun. Ben Verkaik.

“Retail needs shoppers, and the more shoppers we can bring downtown, the better,” he said. “It’s exactly like the reason we want to build the town hall near downtown. It’s good to have a mix.”

Even Ward 5 Cont. Peter Ferragine, who has criticized the way the funding is being applied, said the church plans to use the funds “very well”.

While there have been concerns about giving funding to an organization that could become tax-exempt, Kemp explained that the church is currently registered to pay tax and a past board has already approved funding to help create the event space at Bradford United Church.

Mayor James Leduc also supported the vision to revitalize the building, especially because “we’re so tight for space” and the church presents “a lot of great opportunities.”

“I sat with Pastor Grant a long time ago and his vision was to clean up this building, create this opportunity and bring life to downtown.” he said. “This really helps us downtown.”

DCIP funding is divided into several categories:

• $25,000 under Program 1: Building Exterior Grant Program — to help cover an estimated $75,405.10 in upgrades, including $54,185.10 for all windows, $19,000 for stucco and $2,200 for a door and a new framework.
• $25,000 under Program 2: Building Interior Grant Program – to help cover approximately $82,931.37 in upgrades, including $29,000 to replace an old boiler system with a new HVAC system, $19,210 for new electrical , $13,247.20 for an accessible bathroom, $5,021.53 for fire doors and panels, as well as $16,452.64 for new framing, drywall and insulation required by the building code.
• $2,000 under Schedule 6: Accessibility Improvement Funding Program — to help cover a portion of the remaining $4,000 of the estimated $17,247.20 total cost of the bathroom, specifically for accessibility features such as the door and handrails.
• $2,925.30 under Program 3: Fees and Permits Grant Program – to help cover approximately $3,900.40 in building permits already obtained.

Originally created in 2012, the current grant-based version of the DCIP was approved by council in April 2022 with the goal of encouraging private investment in the downtown core, particularly in retrofitting older buildings to help promote intensification, infill and redevelopment.

According to the report, the program had $473,765 in funds in reserve as of Jan. 1, 2024, is expected to make payments of $281,986.55 for previously approved projects, and has received $29,880.67 in reimbursements so far this year. loans, leaving $921.65. available for the year, which dropped to $166,733.82 after the board approved this request.

In December, the board approved suspending the DCIP program throughout 2024, meaning no new applications will be considered, but previously made applications could still go before the board.