Cambridge Mill towers developer asks city to bump its brownfield cleanup grant to $4.8 million

Higher than anticipated cleanup costs for the site of the future Cambridge Mill condo and hotel towers has prompted the developer to ask the city to update a decade-old agreement that provides cash incentives for remediating the Water Street brownfield site.

If approved, it means the City of Cambridge will give the owners of 130 Water St. N. up to $4.8 million in grants, funded through taxes collected from up to 10 years of assessment growth from the new condo tower and hotel planned for the property.

The $4.8 million is just the city's portion of what's available through the Joint Brownfield Tax Increment Grant Program (TIG) with the Region of Waterloo.

The region's portion of the grant under the new agreement amounts to $6.8 million, up $3 million, bringing the total available for the cleanup to $11.6 million.

The new amount represents $5.2 million increase from an original TIG agreement for the Water Street properties made in 2011.

The recommended revision to the original agreement for the Water Street properties was approved by council during Tuesday's meeting.

Staff say the increase reflects the increased cost of remediation as well as updated property assessment value and projected increase in assessed value based on the proposed development.

The two Waterscape condo towers at 170 and 150 Water St. are captured in the same TIG.

The developer of those properties successfully applied for site remediation grant funding in the amounts of $155,771 for Waterscape 1 and $210,462 for Waterscape 2.

That left a balance of $6.4 million available for the developer behind the Water Street towers project, an amount deemed not enough for reasons noted above.

The combined properties were once the home of Galt Gas Works, a company that operated there from 1887 to 1911 and extracted coal oil from coal. Coal tar is believed to be the main contaminant on the property.

The original TIG agreement is set to expire in 2028, meaning the developer can make four more applications for the grant.

Staff noted the city's and region's burden could also be lessened if the developer receives other financial assistance for site remediation.

The planned development at 130 Water St. N. includes a two-storey podium and two towers, one residential and one for hotel rooms.

It is anticipated the development will proceed in two phases, with the podium and one tower first followed by the second tower.

The city says it's not yet known which tower will proceed first.