Victoria's Incentive Programs for Heritage Buildings

VICTORIA'S INCENTIVE PROGRAMS

FOR HERITAGE BUILDINGS

CITY OF VICTORIA - TAX INCENTIVE PROGRAM (TIP)

Eligibility Criteria

The following is eligibility criteria for the City of Victoria's Tax Incentive Program (TIP):

a. The building must be Heritage Designated.

b. Eligible alterations are limited to seismic upgrading work, associated with retaining and

conserving existing heritage fabric.

c. Construction must not commence until the TIP Application has been advanced to Council

for consideration (some strip-out work may be permitted in specific cases). Retroactive

applications will not be accepted.

d. Proposals must retain internal structure and exterior façades of the heritage building to the

highest level possible unless proven in a seismic assessment to be the only viable option

for seismic upgrading and/or adaptive reuse and be verified as being necessary by an

independent peer review.

e. Rooftop additions must be sensitively located and smaller in scale than the existing building

and are limited to:

i. One-storey on top of heritage buildings that are two to three storeys

and must include step-backs of at least 4 metres from street elevations.

ii. Two storeys on top of heritage buildings that are 4-storeys or greater and must include step-backs that are at least 3 metres from street elevations.

f. Excavation below the original building foundations is not permitted unless verified as required

as part of a structural assessment.

g. For Residential Use TIP Applications, buildings must reuse/repurpose existing upper floors for

residential use, with commercial on the ground floor. Eligible costs are limited to seismic upgrade work.

h. For Non-Residential Use TIP Applications, the building must contain entirely commercial industrial or institutional uses. Eligible costs can include seismic upgrade work as well as

exterior conservation as well as code, mechanical and electrical upgrades.

i. All applications must submit a seismic assessment of the heritage building with cost estimates

for the seismic upgrade strategy and clearly separate out eligible heritage costs from any new

construction and/or new development costs.

j. Applications not meeting the above criteria will be considered ineligible and will not be

accepted. Where an application has been accepted and its status changes to make it ineligible,

application processing will be stopped.

k. Incomplete applications will not be accepted and if necessary, will be returned to applicants to

await a complete, accurate submission.

How to Make Application for TIP

Applications are available by appointment from the City of Victoria’s Senior Heritage Planner for referral

to appropriate approving authorities. To make an appointment email: communityplanning@victoria.ca

Links to TIP Application Packages

Heritage Tax Incentive Program Application – Non-Residential Uses

https://www.victoria.ca/assets/Departments/Planning~Development/Community~Planning/Heritage/Tax%

20Incentive%20Program%20App%20Non%20Residential%20Uses.pdf

Heritage Tax Incentive Program Application – Residential Uses

https://www.victoria.ca/assets/Departments/Planning~Development/Community~Planning/Heritage/Tax%

20Incentive%20Program%20App%20Residential%20Uses.pdf

Programs Administered by Victoria Civic Heritage Trust:

Building Incentive Program (BIP)
Up to 50% matching funds to a maximum of $100,000 per building within a ten year period for eligible conservation work on legally protected commercial, industrial, institutional, and apartment buildings within City of Victoria.

BIP - Design Assistance Grant (DAG)
Up to 50% matching funds to a maximum of $5,000 per building for preliminary design, heritage, architectural, engineering, cost estimating or other consulting services to assess, plan, and prepare work on an eligible BIP conservation project.

Parapet Incentive Program (PIP)
Up to 75% co-funding for eligible voluntary seismic upgrading costs to a maximum of $200,000 per building within a ten year period for exterior falling hazards (parapets, cornices, anchoring and connections of the building's facades, features, chimneys, balconies, fire escapes, etc) and seismic upgrading of the roof and wall connections.

PIP - Design Assistance Grant (PIP-DAG)
One-time 75% co-funding to a maximum of $4,500 per building to engage professional structural engineers for preliminary assessment and design work as required to prepare a PIP application for voluntary seismic upgrading of exterior falling hazards.

This information is updated periodically by the Victoria Civic Heritage Trust.