Trois-Rivières — Real Estate Heritage Restoration Program

• The applicant must be a private owner of an eligible heritage building in Trois-Rivières.
• The building must have a legal heritage status under Québec’s Cultural Heritage Act, or be recognized as having superior/exceptional heritage value and be located in a PIIA area.
• The project must involve heritage restoration/preservation work intended to conserve and enhance the building’s architectural characteristics, based on historical knowledge and using techniques and materials consistent with the building’s period of construction.
• The applicant must submit a financial assistance application form and provide a summary of the planned work (or plans/specifications) and any other documents required to assess the request.
• The applicant must obtain the required authorizations and permits (including, where applicable, authorization from the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications for protected/classified properties, municipal authorization for PIIA properties, and a City renovation permit).

Who is eligible?

• Private owners of heritage buildings.
• Owners of buildings of superior heritage value located in areas subject to an SIIA (site planning and architectural integration program).

Who is not eligible

• Properties/buildings located on land subject to a public-purpose reserve or where expropriation proceedings have been initiated.
• Properties/buildings whose previous approved application under this program was cancelled within the last 12 months due to the owner not meeting program conditions (unless the new application is submitted by a new owner).
• Buildings occupied or intended to be occupied exclusively by an establishment covered by Québec’s Act respecting health services and social services.
• Buildings owned by the Government of Canada, the Government of Québec, or an agency of either government (except if the government-owned property is sold to a private owner).
• Buildings receiving ongoing financial assistance from the federal or Québec government under a social housing program, or that received financial assistance from the City under this program within the last 3 years.

Eligible expenses

• Labour and materials costs billed by an RBQ-licensed contractor for eligible heritage restoration/preservation work.
• Restoration/preservation of exterior wall cladding and finishes (e.g., wood, brick, stone, stamped metal sheet, terracotta, plaster/render and other coatings).
• Restoration/preservation of openings and related components (doors and storm doors, windows and storm windows, dormers, trim/casings, shutters and blinds).
• Restoration/preservation of traditional roof coverings (wood shingles, copper, slate, traditional metal roofing), including snow guards, eavestroughs and downspouts.
• Restoration/preservation of architectural ornamentation (e.g., woodwork, mouldings, cornices, friezes, drip edges, quoins, pilasters).
• Restoration/preservation of projecting exterior elements (porches, verandas, balconies, stoops, railings, enclosed entrances) and exterior stairs (treads, risers, stringers, railings).
• Structural consolidation/restoration/preservation of masonry chimneys, foundations, and load-bearing walls (wood or brick/stone masonry).
• Consolidation/restoration/preservation of masonry boundary walls (stone/brick) and ornamental iron fences.
• Consolidation/restoration/preservation of above-ground architectural or archaeological remains.
• Restoration/preservation of protected interior elements (only where the protection measure applies to interior elements in a classified or cited heritage building).
• Repairs following vandalism, including graffiti removal.
• Removal of an element that is poorly integrated and diminishes the building’s heritage value.
• Removal of a material to assess the building structure.
• Eligible professional/expert fees for “knowledge acquisition” related to the restoration work (e.g., building condition record/technical audit and related plans/specifications; complementary professional studies such as asbestos characterization, soil characterization, structural report; archaeological reports/interventions directly tied to eligible work; consultations with an architect or heritage restoration advisory organizations under agreement with the City).

Eligible geographic areas

• Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

• Processing of applications on a “first come, first served” basis (order of arrival) until funds are exhausted.
• Prioritization according to the date of registration, then according to the order of arrival once the file is complete.
• Compliance of the project with the urban planning by-laws, the master plan and the provisions of the Program.

• Funding is offered subject to budget availability and may end once the program’s allocated funds are exhausted.
• The program is delivered through a funding agreement totaling $3.75M for private heritage property restoration, financed 60% by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications (MCC) and 40% by the City of Trois-Rivières.
• Applicants must pay non-refundable administrative fees of $100 to open a file and $400 to administer and monitor an accepted file (taxes included).
• If an eligible building has suffered a fire, the eligible cost base used to calculate the grant is reduced by the insurance indemnity (or, if unavailable, by the damage amount assessed by an expert selected by the City).