posted on 2021-05-23, 17:00authored byGraham Robert Wilson
Suburban contaminated property (brownfield) redevelopment projects in peripheral or lower-density municipalities often do not have the same expected returns as urban brownfields in dense cities like Toronto, which are aided by high residential sale prices. A survey (n=17) of stakeholders’ opinions found that brownfield redevelopment costs and complexity had increased since changes to environmental and planning regulatory frameworks were made. Existing financial incentives for brownfield redevelopment were reviewed in selected Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) municipalities. A pro forma analysis of a hypothetical mid-rise residential construction scenario was developed to test the current incentives against current market conditions (condo sale prices) in these municipalities, which were often not sufficient to make a project feasible in areas of low condo sale prices. A combination of incentives was found to be effective, and was recommended to be implemented by the Town of Whitby, which has many brownfields but no financial incentives