Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s Heritage Conservation Grants Program in Canada

Deadline: 19-Oct-22

The Vancouver Heritage Foundation( VHF) is seeking applications for its Heritage Conservation Grants program.

 VHF built on its past programs to increase opportunities and funding for conservation of heritage buildings and sites in the city of Vancouver.

VHF encourages all applicants to consider first applying for a Planning Project Grant or undertaking appropriate conservation planning before putting forward an application for a Conservation Project Grant.

The grants can support owners or stewards in the care of their historic site with financial assistance and professional guidance, helping to achieve a high standard of heritage conservation to sustain heritage places and the many benefits they offer for communities.

Categories

The Heritage Conservation Grants program provides funding opportunities through two categories of heritage conservation grants:

• Planning Project Grants: Planning is a critical part of a conservation project. Having a plan in place prepared by a heritage professional will help guide the decisions you make for future projects. Planning Project Grants provide heritage site owners and stewards an opportunity to work with a Heritage Consultant. Examples of the type of research and documentation this can assist with include:
  • Heritage Assessment: to collect documentation to apply for addition to the Vancouver Heritage Register.
  • Conservation Plan: to document the history and significance of the site, inventory architectural features or other character-defining elements, and identify conservation priorities.
  • Maintenance Plan: to identify required maintenance and guide long-term planning around the care of the site.
• Conservation Project Grants: Preserving the original fabric and retaining the character-defining elements of your site are essential parts of protecting its heritage value and ensuring its longer-term life. Conservation Project Grants provide financial assistance with the costs of conserving your heritage building or site. Examples of the type of projects eligible for a Conservation Project Grant include:
  • The painting of your building in an authentic historical colour scheme using VHF’s True Colours paint palette.
  • Restoration of original wood windows or installation of historically appropriate windows where they have previously been lost.
  • Structural, envelope and building systems work that is essential to ensure the longevity and continued use or reuse of the structure

Funding Information

VHF aims to support a variety to projects annually and can provide financial assistance up to 50% of the project cost to a set maximum.

• Planning Projects
  • Private Ownership: $2,000
  • Private Ownership. Heritage Designation: $2,000
  • Non-profit / First Nations Ownership: $3,000
  • Non-profit / First Nations Ownership Heritage Designation: $3,000
• Conservation Projects
  • Private Ownership: $7,500
  • Private Ownership: $10,000
  • Non-profit / First Nations Ownership: $10,000
  • Non-profit / First Nations Ownership Heritage Designation: $10,000
• 5-year maximum per site
  • Private Ownership: $20,000 
  • Private Ownership: $25,000
  • Non-profit / First Nations Ownership: $30,000
  • Non-profit / First Nations Ownership Heritage Designation: $70,000.

What type of work is eligible?

• Planning Projects

A Planning Project Grant may provide support for consultation with an approved Heritage Professional to produce the following types of research and documentation:

• Heritage Assessment to apply for addition to the Vancouver Heritage Register
  • Original building permit and/or water application
  • Summary of ownership/tenancy by year
  • Archival images (if available) – of the site and people associated with it to provide social historical context
  • Fire Insurance Maps
  • Photos of all sides of the site, exterior and interior where notable and photos of neighbouring site(s) to provide context
• ​Statement of Significance
• Conservation Plan
  • History of the site
  • The site's neighborhood context
  • Statement of Significance
  • Site description and images
  • A description of all exterior architectural elements and their condition
  • A list of prioritized activities to achieve conservation of the site
• Service Plan
  • A detailed account of required maintenance
  • A list of prioritized activities and inclusion of conservation best practice approaches to guide building owners in their choices.

Conservation Projects

A Conservation Project Grant may provide support for the following types of projects:

• Conservation projects that support the repair of a historic site, enabling the longer life of the historic resource, for instance:
  • Conservation of exterior character-defining elements including original shingles, siding, stucco, windows, doors, chimn eys, masonry elements, porches, etc.
• Restoration projects that foc us on bringing a site back to a specific period in its history, for instance:
  • Identification of the original paint colors on a building and painting in a historically authentic color scheme using the VHF True Colors palette (for buildings built 1880s – 1920s) or another documented historical scheme.
  • The removal of an enclosure from a once open porch.
  • Rebuildin g heritage-equivalent wood windows where the original windows have been lost.
• Rehabilitation projects that enable new uses or continued use of a heritage site while respecting character-defining elements, for instance:
  • Seismic strengthening of a building structure. For larger grant awards, consideration of improving seismic resiliency will be expected.
  • Structural and envelope preservation such as roofing, foundation repair/renewal and rainwater management.
  • Accessibility and other work can also be considered where directly related to the conservation of the structure.
• Sustainable retrofits that improve building performance where directly related to preserving eligible heritage elements, for instance:
  • The addition of interior or exterior storm windows for historic windows.

Eligibility Criteria

• Private Owner
  • Individual(s)
  • strata corporations
• Registered non-profit society or federally registered charity
  • including those with a long-term lease (minimum of 10 years) in a municipally owned building with responsibility for heritage character elements eligible for work.
  • Authorized a gent of a site, with written permissions from the site owner
• First Nations.

For more information, visit Vancouver Heritage Foundation.

For more information, visit https://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org/grants/heritage-conservation-grants/