Maple Ridge to Push Commercial over Condos

Maple Ridge’s downtown condo-building incentive plan worked so well it kickstarted $100 million of construction in the downtown and cost the district only $1 million.

Now, Maple Ridge wants to see if the same trick will bring in more business and industry.

Council voted on a one-year extension of the commercial part of the town centre investment incentive program Tuesday, in an attempt to get every possible penny focused on commercial growth.

Under the three-year residential incentive plan, which expires Dec. 31, developers who built in the downtown got priority processing for their applications, fee reductions, tax exemptions and cash grants to put up their projects.

With that now ending, the commercial incentives only will be extended another year, ending in December 2014 – providing council approved the plan on Tuesday.

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