Over $40 million will be injected into revitalizing Montreal’s commercial strips, in spending promises that see the revival of a previously-discontinued renovation program.

The funding is intended as a tonic for lagging commercial strips, as many vacant storefronts have cropped up on local high streets in recent years with merchants complaining that parking issues and online retail have undermined their bottom lines.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and provincial minister responsible for Montreal Robert Poeti announced that 20 streets, including St. Denis, Mont Royal and St. Hubert will be eligible for $15.4 million to upgrade facades over the upcoming five years. Four streets will be revitalized each year. Ste. Catherine will be part of a separate plan to be announced next week.

Street merchant associations, known as SDCs, will receive $4.7 million over four years to help organize commercial retailers.

A new program known as PR@M Artères will give out $13.9 million for infrastructures on seven commercial arteries.

Coderre described the announcement as "a firm commitment of the city to its commercial diversity, downtown, business development companies and local shops."

Glenn Castanheira, who ran the St. Lawrence street merchants association before taking a post with the opposition Projet Montreal, applauded the funding in an interview with CTV Montreal Friday. “It’s a great thing. We’ve been asking for a long time in the business community and the opposition. But once you renovate a façade, property value goes up and taxes go up. Who ends up paying those taxes? The businesses. We need something to absorb that increase in taxes.”

Adam Jabbar, owner of Chicha on Mont Royal Ave, says his taxes have gone up by more than 50 per cent in the seven years he's been in business.

"When I started here it was $6,500, now I pay almost $10,000 per year which is too much for this small store," he said.

According to a city document, Montreal's 14,000 businesses include more than 8,000 that specialize in retail, they employ almost 120,000 people and bring in an estimated $40 billion in revenues.