November, 2019
The Canadian Brownfield Network (CBN) engaged Ryerson University’s graduate planning students (the Project Team) to develop a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) approach for brownfield development in Ontario. Specifically, CBN was interested in a market-based model for TIF similar to the model used in Michigan. The Project Team looked closely at how TIF is legislated and operationalized in Michigan as a potential model for Ontario.
Between September and November 2019, the Project Team engaged with public and private stakeholders to determine how TIF can be implemented and what the regulations could resemble. The Project Team conducted over 20 interviews with members of staff from the Province of Ontario, municipalities across Canada, and brownfield practitioners from Ontario including: private developers, quasi-government agencies, and financial lenders. In addition to these interviews, the Project Team conducted an analysis of existing academic literature, as well as policy and regulatory frameworks, for brownfield redevelopment and the use of TIF in Canada and the United States.