Financing Strategy

The financing strategy for The Rivers is a combination of a Community Revitalization Levy (CRL), development fees and the strategic use of City-owned land. Existing fees are not affected.  To learn more, view the Map: The Rivers Community Revitalization Levy District.

Provincial support

  • On May 10, 2005, the Municipal Government Act (MGA) was amended to provide a new tool for municipal revenue generation.  More information on this is available at the Queen's Printers External Site. (see The Municipal Government Act Chapter M-26, Part 10 Taxation, Division 4.1 Community Revitalization Levy). This tool is called a "community revitalization levy." It allows for the education portion of the incremental property tax in a designated redevelopment district to be dedicated to redevelopment programs in the area.
  • The duration of the redevelopment district and the community revitalization finance tool will generally be up to 20 years.
  • Based on this new legislation, The City of Calgary prepared The Rivers District Community Revitalization Plan, detailing how the CRL will be used in The Rivers District.

Community Revitalization Levy (CRL)

  • A tool called a Community Revitalization Levy (CRL) will be used to underwrite some of the costs of The Rivers revitalization.
  • A CRL is a financial tool for investment in public infrastructure that allows cities to kick-start redevelopment in areas that would not otherwise be viable.
  • A CRL enables municipalities to borrow funds to finance public improvements within a clearly-designated blighted area. They repay these funds from incremental property taxes spurred by private investment. 
  • The Community Revitalization Levy is a similar tool to Tax Increment Financing used in the United States. To learn more, read The U.S. Experience with Tax Increment Financing (TIF) (198 KB) PDF File. 

Development fees

  • Developers and landowners will benefit from public improvements in The Rivers district, so The City intends to recover some infrastructure costs through fees as development occurs.
  • The City is currently working on policies and standards for redevelopment fees in inner-city areas.

Strategic use of City-owned land

  • The City has strategic land holdings in The Rivers district, assets that could be sold or leased to provide financing for the district.
  • Such use of these lands, and/or redirection of the sale or lease proceeds, will require special consideration from Calgary City Council.

For more information

Read the booklet The Revitalization of the Rivers District in Calgary (1862 KB) PDF File 

This information has no legal status and cannot be used as an official interpretation of the various bylaws, codes and regulations currently in effect. The City of Calgary accepts no responsibility to persons relying solely on this information. Web pages are updated periodically. ​

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