King Street Façade Guidelines

[Spokes]

King street Façade Guidelines
www.kitchener.ca/downtown/facade

Downtown Design Policies and Guidelines Document (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/downtown_design_brief_dts-06-156.pdf)

Other important documents to take note of:


Table of Contents (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/downtown_facade_title_table_of_contents.pdf)
Preamble (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/downtown_facade_preamble_p3-4.pdf)
City Centre District (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/downtown_facade_city_centre_district_p5-19.pdf)
City Centre District Site Specific Design Recommendations (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/downtown_facade_city_centre_district_site_specific _rec_p20-53.pdf)
Market District Site (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/downtown_facade_market_district_p54-63.pdf)
Market District Site Specific Design Recommendations (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/downtown_facade_market_district_site_specific_rec_ p64-82.pdf)
Infill Development (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/downtown_facade_infill_development_p83.pdf)
Glossary (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/downtown_facade_glossary_p84-88.pdf)

[Spokes]

Some great ideas in those documents.

So can someone clarify. Along King St. there can't be anything over 3 floors? If it is it has to be stepped back? But did I understand correctly corners/intersections are the exception?

Some really cool ideas none the less.

[Spokes]

To continue my question above. If all properties along King street have to be stepped back at 45 degree angle after the 3rd floor, wouldn't that mean we would have all buildings looking the same after a certain height (much like the TD building)

The details are found here (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/downtown_design_brief_dts-06-156.pdf) on page 6

[UrbanWaterloo]

Facade program giving downtown a facelift
February 18, 2010
By Melinda Dalton, Record staff
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/672483

http://media.therecord.topscms.com/images/2b/14/5dab04b0470b847a64f1e2eb980a.jpeg
Mario Halapir, owner of Sportslink, took advantage of Kitchener's cash program to upgrade the facade of his store.

KITCHENER — Behind the sleek new sign and the strikingly modern stucco lays the bones of a building that has watched over Kitchener’s downtown for nearly a century.

With its modern facelift, Mario Halapir’s soccer retail store and uniform business, Sports Link, shows little sign of its age. But what it does show, Halapir hopes, is his commitment to the business and the city’s core.

“With the economy the way it is right now, everyone’s thinking about saving dollars,” he said. “We thought about it the other way around. We said, ‘We’re going to invest some money into our business so we can be here forever.’ ”

The Sports Link façade improvement is the largest completed project in the city’s granting program, which matches exterior improvement dollars for commercial businesses in the downtown.

The city will pay up to $10,000 per storefront for approved projects. In total, Kitchener has $600,000 to hand out over the five years of the program.

In 2009, the city approved grants totalling $175,000. The private investment portion of those projects will equal about $375,000 since some businesses exceed the maximum amount that could be matched, said Cory Bluhm, the city’s urban investment adviser.

The program launched last year, replacing a façade loan initiative the city set up a decade earlier. Since transitioning to a grant program, interest from the local business community has picked up, said Bluhm.

“This is the most value per grant you can get from any other municipality,” he said. “We did that on purpose.”

Brantford started up a similar grant program in 2009, but they cap their grant at $9,500 and the city only awards a maximum of $50,000 per year. Kitchener has $125,000 to fund projects in 2010 and $100,000 for the remaining three years after that. That money comes from a fund the city had previously set up to finance the loan program.

Waterloo offers an interest-free loan program for façade upgrades, but the city doesn’t match investment. Cambridge has a hybrid loan-grant program that allows businesses to take up to 35 per cent of their total approved loan, usually between $5,000 and $20,000, as a grant. That program has been in place for at least a decade, but hasn’t been well used of late, said Trevor McWilliams, a senior planner with the city.

In its inaugural year, 10 businesses were approved for grants in the Kitchener program. Four projects, including DNA silk screening, two storefronts at the Tannery, Matter of Taste and Sports Link, are now completed. Two more King Street projects are close to completion.

Sports Link, located on the corner of Charles and Ontario streets, made $80,000 worth of improvements to its façade, including upgrades to the windows, signage and all new stucco.

“We had been planning on doing renovations on the building, but when the program came out, I thought ‘What a great opportunity,’ ” said Halapir. “Instead of piecemealing it like we probably would have done because we couldn’t afford everything, we used the grant money to finish everything the way we wanted to do it all at once.”

The building was the old Oktoberfest headquarters before Sports Link moved in upstairs. They later took over the ground floor as retail space and have been making upgrades as they go. The new façade gives the building a dramatic new look and has been attracting a significant amount of attention, Bluhm said.

“We’ve heard so many people say, ‘We didn’t know that existed. When did he come?’ ” he said. “He’s been there 15 years.”

The façade program is aimed at businesses within the area bordered by the railway tracks on the west to Cedar Street on the east, and Joseph Street on the south to Weber Street on the north. Of the 10 projects approved last year, seven are on King Street.

“Right now, there’s a lot of mismatching going on,” Matter of Taste co-owner Phong Tran said of the storefronts on King. “Overall, I think if everybody pitches in and does their own, I think it will make this area look nicer.”

The 2010 deadline has passed and the city is working with business owners on nine new projects. If some drop off in the screening process, they’ll make those grants available again on a first come, first served basis.

[RangersFan]

I recently noticed this store while walking downtown, like the article said I had never known the store existed before the upgrades.

[Spokes]

A couple other businesses that benefitted from the Facade Improvement Grant Program:


Voila Institute of Hair Design
Matter of Taste
29 King St. East - the owner is hoping to lease the remaining 7,000 sq ft to an office user



From the Your Kitchener Newsletter (March/April Edition page 3) (http://www.kitchener.ca/pdf/yourkitnews_2010_mar_apr.pdf)

[UrbanWaterloo]

Council agrees to accelerate funding for successful downtown incentive program
Monday, April 12, 2010 - http://www.kitchener.ca/news/MediaDetail.asp?tid=18822

KITCHENER - This afternoon, Kitchener City Council agreed to give a boost to downtown business property owners who want to make a significant contribution to the look and feel of the city's core.

At its regular meeting of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee, council agreed to accelerate the funding for the city's popular Façade Improvement Grant Program (FIGP) - increasing the funding for 2010 by $75,000. The increase will enable the city to grant up to nearly $200,000 this year to downtown businesses that want to improve the exteriors of their storefronts.

''There has been great interest in the incentive programs and they are proving to be an excellent investment in terms of the private sector investment they're leveraging in our downtown,'' said Cory Bluhm, the city's manager of downtown community development. ''It's really encouraging to see that the transformation that is happening with the King Street reconstruction project is also encouraging building and business owners to bring new life to their storefronts.''

''On behalf of downtown Kitchener Business Improvement Area, we're all very pleased with the positive impacts the grant programs have had on the downtown - both on the businesses taking part in the incentive programs, and on the businesses that surround them,'' said Mark Garner, executive director of the downtown BIA.

The City of Kitchener administers both the FIG program and a second financial incentive program - the Upper Storey Renovation Program which offers incentives for converting under-used upper storey floor space into residential units. Today, Cory Bluhm, the city's manager of downtown development, shared with Council details of the success of both programs.

Façade Improvement Grant Program
A five-year program, the façade improvement grants enable business owners to apply for grants to assist with exterior façade improvements - including fascia, signage, entryways and windows. Applicants can receive up to $10,000 per storefront or façade, where the applicant covers a minimum 50 per cent of the total costs. Buildings with multiple storefronts can received up to $30,000.

Council approved $200,000 worth of façade grants in 2009 with $175,000 actually granted to business owners with the following results:

12 approved applications
5 applications completed to date
3 applications commenced by not yet complete
2 applications to being in 2010
2 applications withdrawn
$65,000 invested by the city in the first few grants to business owners has leveraged $252,000 in private sector investment in storefront improvements.
When all of the 2009 projects are complete, the city will have granted $175,500, while leveraging an estimated $547,000 in private sector investment.

For 2010, city staff is reviewing nine more applications for the Façade Improvement Grant Program. These projects will receive $114,500 in grant incentives from the program which is ultimately anticipated to result in an investment totalling $395,000 by the private sector.

The additional $75,000 in funding approved for the program today by Council will come from the 2013 Façade Improvement Grant Program allocation. Coupled with nearly $25,000 left from the 2009 program, the city will be able to provide nearly $200,000 in façade grants in 2010. Currently, the city has an additional six potential applicants who have expressed an interest in completing façade enhancements in 2010.

''We're soon going to be undertaking a business attraction strategy to try and attract new retailers and restaurants and these incentives may play a significant role in helping us to attract these businesses,'' added Bluhm.

Upper Storey Renovation Program

Since its initiation in 2005, the city's upper story renovation program has. Progress to date includes:

7 applications with 6 completed to date
3 units still to be created
26 new residential units created downtown
38 new downtown residents
When all of the current project applications are complete, the city will have granted 244,625, while leveraging an estimated $1.7 million in private sector investment.

A five-year program, the Upper Storey Renovation Program finished on December 31, 2009. City staff will be re-evaluating the program to determine whether it will continue in the future. It is anticipated that a recommendation will be presented for council's consideration in early 2011.