Edmonton proposes 25% tax break for industrial builds

Edmonton city administration is proposing a 25 per cent property tax abatement over three years to speed up construction of industrial buildings in priority sectors, along with a new program to fund infrastructure on oversized industrial sites.

Council’s executive committee is to consider the proposals on Oct. 21, Taproot Edmonton reported. Council would then be asked to approve the programs as part of the 2027-2030 operating budget.

The first mover program would fund a single major component of the development of oversized industrial land sites across the city, according to the report summary. The tax abatement would target priority sectors.

Administration recommends keeping nine existing industrial incentives and programs.

The proposals follow mixed results from the city’s 10-year industrial investment action plan. Several key performance indicators missed their targets. Administration said it set high targets on purpose to keep pace with residential growth, and that the results show changes are needed to speed up progress.

The industrial file lands as council also deals with the province’s infill zoning order, which the city has projected could cost Edmonton’s construction sector hundreds of millions of dollars next year. A special council meeting is scheduled for Oct. 23.

Details above come from Taproot Edmonton’s summary of the executive committee agenda and city administration’s reports; the city’s own agenda documents were not independently reviewed for this story.

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