Nearly a year after Kamloops council expanded the city’s revitalization tax exemption bylaw, new developments have been slow to come forward, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last January, the expansion was made to grant new commercial developments a 10-year break on their portion of municipal taxes.
Councillor Mike O’Reilly says The Hive development is the only project that has come forward since then. The project was unveiled the day after the tax exemption bylaw was expanded by council, and phase one of that project will be the first new commercial-only building built in downtown Kamloops since 2007.
“There were more slated to be going, but with the pandemic it changed things. Luckily the other building, The Hive, that’s being built now, got going before the pandemic started. So that was a blessing for them.”
The Hive will be a three-phase development on Lansdowne Street, worth at least $27 million. Phase one is well underway, which will be a five-storey, 60,000-square-foot commercial building at 5th and Lansdowne, worth at least $14 million, and it’s expected to be done late this year.
The city is considering expanding the tax exemption further, to potentially include new industrial buildings, daycares, multi-family rental buildings and derelict buildings that are being restored.
“The tax exemption is being looked at through a working group right now. Made up of building owners, property owners, the Chamber of Commerce, and I believe the (Canadian Home Builders Association). Key stakeholders throughout the community, to see if there are things we can add and change,” O’Reilly says.