1. PR@M & SMALL BUSINESS
FINANCING
DOCUMENT 01
October 2010

2. INTRODUCTION
01
The City of Montreal offers a variety of opportunities to small businesses interested in
improving their own situation. The following is a brief description of PR@M and several
additional programs with which the SDBSL can liaise and direct its members to. The SDBSL
is well aware of PR@M and has allocated staff to working with this program. However the
membership is not sufficiently aware of the opportunities that exist, the money that may be
available, and the information that is disposable to them.

3. PR@M
PR@M is intended for the improvement of the island of Montreal’s building stock. The program breaks
into three components:
•PR@M Industry supports owners of industrial buildings on the Island of Montreal with a 5-year property
tax rebate,
•PR@M Commerce supports merchants and business owners who want to improve their building with a
view to improving profitability, and
•PR@M Revitalization is designed to support the owners of heritage buildings that house uses that do
not comply with current zoning but endure by the grace of Grandfather clauses.
Most of the older buildings along Saint-Laurent are devoted to commercial uses, providing opportunities
for capitalizing on the PR@M Commerce program. It will provide up to $4,000.00 or cover 50% of design
and planning costs for a renovation and offers up to $33,000.00 for work undertaken to improve the
building. Property owners are eligible for these grants.
Applications are made to the borough government. As well as completing
the official form applicants must provide supporting documents. A
building’s owner making the application must provide a document
demonstrating ownership of the building, proof of involvement in the
project, and at least one estimate for work. A renter must provide a lease,
consent from the building’s owner, proof of involvement in the project and
at least one estimation for the work to be done. An application for funds
can be made any time through the year and usually a response can be
expected within 30 days of the application’s submission.

4. THE ROLE OF THE SDBSL
Guidance One of the staff members of the SDBSL currently acts as the liaison between
business owners and the PR@M Program. Applying for a grant can be a difficult process.
Working with merchants in this capacity is an excellent opportunity to develop close
membership relations. interACTION believes that the SDBSL is sufficiently meeting the needs
of businesses holding up its end of this role and has found no evidence to the contrary.
Workshops for merchants are provide information on the availability of this money and the
process by which it can be attained are run during the year. Though an effort is made to
publicize the workshops, anecdotal accounts suggest that they are often poorly attended.
Promotion of the PR@M program appears on the SDBSL website, but is not highly visible or
prominent. The program and the workshops are publicized in the quarterly newsletter that is
delivered by hand to each of the merchants. InterACTION did speak with one business owner
who, looking for money to make improvements to his shop was not aware that PR@M was
available.
Local Government administers this program. In the plateau the commissioner in charge of
this program is Mme Mylène Hamelin (514 872-4958). The individual dossier’s of merchants
who have sought the support of the SDBSL make an important opportunity for developing a
relationship with the representative for local economic development.