Planned 36-unit apartment in Palmerston ‘checked all the boxes’ for property tax rebate
Developer to get back portion of taxes via program to incentivize development
GUELPH – Wellington County council approved a tax break for the developer of a 36-unit apartment building in Palmerston last week.
WT Lands, a private construction and property management company, is building a four-storey, mixed-use apartment on a vacant lot across from TG Minto.
According to the county, the company’s plans include four units with rent under market rates, 16 two-bedroom units and 20 single-bed units. Two commercial units are also in the plans.
The project was previously approved in 2025 as a 58-unit build before being scaled back because of financial constraints.
Over the course of five years following the build, WT Lands will get back about $168,000 in taxes, with the county rebating $93,000 and the Town of Minto, $75,000.
WT Lands currently pays $1,110 in tax per year on the 475 Main Street East property. After an estimated $11-million build, it’s thought the property value will be $3.6 million, with taxes increasing to $55,000 per year – $30,500 for the county and $24,500 for Minto.
WT Lands will pay full property taxes as normal and get back a gradually declining portion of the increased tax associated with the new apartment building.
In the first year, the full portion of the increase is rebated. The portion of tax rebated goes down from 80% in year two to 20% in year five. Starting in the sixth year, the owner pays the full tax portion with no rebate going forward.
The arrangement is through the Tax Incremental Equivalent Grant program, part of the county’s Community Improvement Plan to financially incentivize desired development. The CIP was opened up a few years ago to include affordable housing (80% or less of average market rent).
Minto approved the development in March, making it eligible for the county program.
At a Sept. 26 county council meeting, councillor Jeff Duncan, chair of the county economic development committee, said the committee felt the project “checked all the boxes.”
It’s the first rebate application of its kind approved by the current council, he added.
“This project adds to the quantity of rental units in Wellington County, which is specifically a priority in the Town of Minto,” county economic development manager Christina Mann stated in a report to council.
