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Several representatives of the local film, television and tourism industry, and from the colleges, voiced their support for the project during the committee meeting.

The city plans to borrow the $40 million but it doesn’t know yet what the interest rate will be. The city also plans to charge an additional half of a percentage point for administrative fees on the borrowing.

It’s proposed to be a 30-year loan. The city says it will recover all of the costs associated with the loan.

TriBro’s parent company Triple Group is providing a $10-million letter of credit as security. The city also wants a letter from the company’s bank to make sure the company is in good standing.

The city is eager to build the facility without delay and see the local economy cash in on the business generated by the project.

According to a city report, if TriBro financed the project on its own in collaboration with the film office, the project wouldn’t start for up to three years because the company is busy developing an entertainment complex in Pickering, Ont.

The city says that kind of delay would equal $100 million in unrealized economic activity and about $400,000 in missed annual property taxes.

Mayor Jim Watson trumpeted the deal as filling in the “missing piece of the puzzle” to the local film and television scene. The spinoff job creation will be a boon to Ottawa, he said.

jwilling@postmedia.com

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