Town staff is here to help
Smooth Rock Falls is business ready. It is offering new businesses a variety of generous financial incentives including competitive tax incentives and program grants.
Smooth Rock Falls has a forward-thinking leadership team that is known for effective decision-making and we pride ourselves on our willingness to develop and try new ideas. When we developed our Community Improvement Plan, we considered all of the social, community and economic conditions required to make Smooth Rock Falls a vibrant and prosperous community.
For business support, please contact Shannon Michaud at the Town of Smooth Rock Falls.
Financial incentives
Smooth Rock Falls’ financial incentives are generous, varied and far-reaching and include both residential, commercial and industrial. Highlights include:
- Land offered for up to 90 per cent below market value; serviced land in town and on the golf course can be purchased for $500.
- Enormous tax breaks for new homeowners over three years: 100 per cent the first year, 75 per cent the second year and 25 per cent the third year.
- Economic development incentives for business owners: loans or grants up to a maximum of 15 per cent of eligible costs, up to a maximum of a million dollars.
- Loan guarantees for residential and non-residential construction projects up to 50 per cent of construction costs: up to a maximum of $100,000 for residential and $500,000 for non-residential projects.
- A generous Tax Increment Grant Program for businesses, including: a 75 per cent rebate in year one, 50 per cent rebate in year two and 25 per cent rebate in year three.
There are also several government funding programs that could be leveraged pending approval. The Town municipal staff can help you determine which one or ones would be appropriate based on your needs and situation, and can help you some of the paperwork.
The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is a crown corporation and development agency of the Ontario government that invests in northern businesses and municipalities through conditional contributions, forgivable performance loans, incentive term loans and loan guarantees.
Ontario’s Rural Economic Development (RED) program helps rural communities remove barriers to community economic development. With the support of the program, rural communities are better positioned to attract investment, create jobs, enhance economic growth and make everyday life easier for rural Ontarians.
Statistics & research
The Town of Smooth Rock Falls is here to help businesses and to provide existing and potential businesses the best possible information on Smooth Rock Falls and area. We have available, at no cost, up-to-date statistics on demographics, economic makeup, education/skill levels, infrastructure, situational analysis, etc. The Town has undertaken a number of strategies that identify investment opportunities in specific sectors:
- Agriculture
- Tourism
- Food service
- Mechanical and other technology
- Forestry
- Mining
These are areas where the economy is growing and are either export-based or providing products or services that are currently underserved in the region.
Starting or expanding a business
The Town of Smooth Rock Falls with the assistance of the Ministry of Northern Development & Mines Business Consulting Services can help.
Small Business Enterprise Centres
Small Business Enterprise Centres (SBECs) focus on providing support to start-up and small enterprises during their first five years of operation. Entrepreneurs are provided with easy access to business consulting services and information covering management, marketing, technology and financing. The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) supports 7 SBECs in Northern Ontario.
What the program offers
Ministry staff provide information and advice in areas such as:
- Strategic business planning
- Sourcing new ideas, products and services
- Adopting new technology to increase profits and reduce costs
- Developing domestic and export markets
- Business financing
- Improving competitiveness
- Managing growth
- Accessing federal, provincial and municipal programs
- Identifying emerging markets and development opportunities
- Preparing business development strategies
- Networking to enhance competitiveness and profitability
More information
These services complement those of the Small Business Enterprise Centres which help new and recently established businesses.
