Ben Bleecker property sold without conditions, no development progress

The property at 40 Yeomans Street on the northeast corner of the Sidney St and Bridge St W intersection is known as the “Ben Bleecker property” as it was the former home of the Ben Bleecker Auditorium, and formerly used as the municipal fairgrounds.

Summary

Belleville sold the land to 2 developers, covering the cost typically paid by developers to rezone the property from Community Facility to Commercial and Residential.

Since then, the city has allocated millions in public funds to upgrade the intersection and even rezoned the land at a developer’s request in hopes of spurring construction. However, no conditions were attached to the sale, and no development has occurred as of April 2026.

Belleville sold the land without conditions

In 2021, Belleville sold the land to private developers for $2.375M, with no strings attached. According to the CAO, this was to maximize the sale price.

Unlike when Belleville sells industrial land to developers to ensure warehouses/factories/etc are built, there were no requirements known as restrictive covenants for:

• Minimum development timeline
• “no-flipping” clause
• Mandatory use requirements (eg. grocery store) beyond eventual rezoning

$3.15M in public investment for surrounding infrastructure

As of 2025, the City has invested or allocated $3.15M+ into in infrastructure upgrades to improve the Bridge and Sidney intersection, including:

• Road widening
• Sewer/storm/water upgrades
• Pole relocations and land acquisition
• Integration with the Avonlough Sewage Pumping Station

These improvements are adjacent to the Yeomans properties and were prioritized in City planning documents.

Rezoning and planning work done at City’s expense

As part of the agreement of sale, the City agreed to pay for the planning, engineering, and servicing studies required to rezone both parcels from Community Facility to Residential (North) and Commercial (South). The City justified this by citing:

• The need for a grocery store in a commercially underserved area
• The desire to enable development timelines
• A goal of reducing appeal risks during the planning process

Belleville approved rezoning request

At the owners request, Belleville split the north portion into east (townhouses) and west (apartments) parcels and rezoned them, providing the developer with the option to sell off one of the parcels individually.

Public investment, private benefits

Despite the City’s investments and planning work, the properties remain undeveloped, while land values have increased. In 2022, the eastern portion (intended for townhouses) was listed for $2.9 million, over 3.5× the original price paid for the entire north parcel ($800K), indicating land speculation rather than housing delivery.

Sale of publicly-owned land should serve a community purpose

Sale of surplus publicly-owned land should serve Official Plan objectives such as social needs (grocery stores) and affordable housing, not to simply increase revenue one time.

Belleville collected $2.375M from the sale, but the long-term property tax benefit remains unrealized due to the lack of development. Estimated annual taxes if assessed at sale value:

• $67K from $1.575M commercial (Goldmanco)
• $15.5K from $800K residential (Dashmesh)

Adding restrictive covenants to the sale would have likely reduced the demand for the property and thus the sale price. However, accepting a little less up front on the sale price and ensuring the land is developed would make the land worth more, meaning higher property taxes going forward.

Belleville’s outdated land sale policy later updated

Belleville’s 2021 sale used policies created in 2007 following a 2006 provincial requirement. These policies were later acknowledged as being outdated by staff. An updated Real Property Acquisition and Disposition Policy was passed in 2023, now requiring alignment with community objectives, but still does not require restrictive covenants.

Strategic land sales should include enforceable conditions

If a sale is strategic – such as to provide a grocery store for West End residents as referenced by the Municipal Comprehensive Review, Planning Rationale and by the Mayor in the media – then it should include enforceable development conditions, like:

• Restrictive covenants
• Community Benefits Charges
• Development timelines

Without them, the City has little recourse if developers choose to delay or flip the property.

40 Yeomans Street illustrates the risk of unconditional public land sales. Despite good intentions – affordable housing, grocery access, tax base growth – the result has been speculation, stalled progress, and unrewarded public investment.

Going forward, Belleville should adopt a more disciplined, transparent, and outcome-focused approach to land disposition – particularly in strategic areas. Public land is a powerful tool. It should be used not just to raise cash, but to deliver lasting public benefit.

Ownership

40 Yeomans is split into 2 properties, North and South:

North

North is located on the south side of Catharine Street, west of Yeomans Street and east of Sidney Street. Its address is 40 Yeomans St roll number 120806017013704 PIN 40469-0130.

Belleville sold the property on January 25, 2021 to 2749275 Ontario Inc. (Dashmesh Properties owned by Balwinder Randhawa and Amrik Ghuman), a real estate company headquartered in Ludhiana, Punjab, India that is the owner-builder of the newly constructed Arabella Retirement Residence retirement home (“Dashmesh”) on Dundas Street West for $800,000 ($200,000 per acre).

South

South side is located at Bridge and Sidney streets for proposed commercial grocery store and related buildings. Its address is 18 Yeomans St roll number 120806017013702 PIN 40469-.

Belleville sold the property on January 25, 2021 to Goldmanco (“Goldmanco”), a family owned retail development company based in Toronto that also owns the Loyalist Market shopping plaza across the street (Shoppers Drug Mart).

By owning both the southwest (Loyalist Market) and the northeast (Ben Bleecker south) corners, Goldmanco can dictate the tenant mix to avoid internal competition using property controls known as restrictive covenants and exclusivity clauses (eg. allowing only 1 hair salon on their properties) – effectively giving individual businesses a localized monopoly. For example, they are unlikely to lease space to a tenant that would compete directly with their existing anchor, Shoppers Drug Mart. The increase ownership concentration also places upward pressure on commercial rents.

Latest: Belleville investing to improve the intersection

As of 2025, Belleville’s estimated total cost to improve the intersection next to these properties at Sidney and Bridge is $3,147,400. It is included in the Development Charge Background Study – Project Number 16:

• $124k for Design (property taxes in the 2018 Capital Budget)
• $150k for Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (MCEA) (property taxes in the 2019 Capital Budget)
• $1M for Property Acquisition, Utility Relocations, Design (Capital Levy, Casino, Development Charges and property taxes in the 2021 Capital Budget)
• $1M additional funding for Property & Design (Capital Levy ($802k) / DC ($198k) in 2022 Capital Budget)
• $350k additional funding for Property Acquisition, Utility Relocations, Design (Capital Levy ($217k) / DC ($93k), Water/Wastewater ($40k) in 2022 Capital Budget)

Other costs include:

• $150k for Quinte Exhibition Area Planning & Servicing Study (property taxes in the 2018 Operating Budget)

2014 – Transportation Master Plan recommends Bridge Street West and Sidney Street improvements

Additional northbound lane on Sidney Street between Bridge Street and south of Wilkins Street.

The City’s 2014 Transportation Master Plan identified a series of recommended road network modifications including a project to “provide an additional northbound lane on Sidney Street between Bridge Street and south of Wilkins Street” and further prioritized this project as a “Phase 1: 2013 to 2021” project. As part of the Sidney Street widening project, the intersection of Bridge Street West and Sidney Street will be improved.

March 28, 2018 – $150K for Quinte Exhibition Area Planning & Servicing Study in the 2018 Operating Budget

With the potential redevelopment of the Quinte Exhibition Grounds, together with other lands in the immediate area (Wilson Concrete, Nortel, and the former Sir Mackenzie Bowell School site) it is necessary to undertake a detailed servicing study to determine sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and water requirements needed to accommodate possible redevelopment of lands in the identified area. There are also several properties in the area not receiving City Services. A detailed planning analysis of potential land uses should be undertaken as part of the study.

April 11, 2018 – $124K for Bridge / Sidney Street intersection – Design in the 2018 Capital Budget

Funded by property taxes.

February 12, 2019 – $150k for Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (MCEA) funding allocated in the 2019 Capital Budget

Bridge / Sidney Intersection – Design Only

This project is for an Environmental Assessment and Preliminary Design for the reconstruction of the Bridge Street West / Sidney Street intersection to provide dedicated turn lanes in each direction and for the widening of Sidney Street from the Bridge Street West northerly to Wilkins Street from 3 to 4 lanes. This widening to provide an additional northbound lane on Sidney Street was identified as a recommended improvement in the City’s 2014 Transportation Master Plan. Both Sidney Street and Bridge Street are arterial roads and it has become necessary to undertake intersection improvements to increase capacity and safety.

Work commenced in 2018 with preparation of an RFP to complete an Environmental Assessment. The funding requested is necessary to complete the EA including preliminary design, complete property (legal) surveys, complete geotechnical investigations and initiate any property acquisitions determined through the EA. Utility relocations, detail design and construction would follow subject to future funding.

December 1, 2020 – $2M for Sidney St/Bridge St. West – Intersection Improvements in 2021 Capital Budget

intersection be widened in all four (4) quadrants to provide dedicated left turn lanes; that Bridge Street West be widened between Yeomans St and Sidney St; and that Sidney St north of Bridge St W be widened to four (4) lanes (currently 3 lanes wide between Bridge St W and Wilkins St.). This phase of the project would include completing the design, obtaining all property necessary for the project and relocation of the Elexicon pole lines to accommodate the proposed road widening works. Elexicon have indicated they are prepared to relocate the pole line in 2021.

In considering that this intersection has a high collision history; the property on the NE quadrant (former Ben Bleecker site) is slated for redevelopment; and the commercial properties on the SE and SW quadrants are active commercial sites, it is recommended that this become a high priority project. Furthermore, the sewer outlet for the new Avonlough Sewage Pump Station will also be constructed along Bridge St W through this intersection and there is a need to coordinate the two designs; therefore proceeding with this project should be considered a priority. This project was also identified as a priority project in the 2014 Transportation Master Plan.

• $1M for Sidney St. / Bridge St. West – Intersection Improvements funded by:
  • Capital Levy $550k, Casino – Infrastructure $200k, and Development Charges $150k.
  • $100K of property taxes

The proposed project would include widening of Sidney Street at the College Street Intersection to provide dedicated left turn lanes in each direction. In addition a centre two way left turn lane would be added to Sidney Street south of the
intersection to the CNR overpass.

Property acquisitions and utility relocations will be needed prior to proceeding with any of the proposed widening work. It is proposed to proceed with the necessary property acquisitions, and once those have been completed begin relocating any utilities (such as Elexicon pole lines) that would be in conflict with the proposed road and intersection improvements.

• $1M for Property Acquisition & Utility Relocations funded by:
  • Capital Levy $550k, Casino – Infrastructure $200k, and Development Charges $150k.
  • $100K of property taxes

January 25, 2021 – Belleville sells former Ben Bleecker Auditorium property for $2.375M

The land bounded by Yeoman, Catharine, Sidney and Bridge streets was sold as follows:

• Northern property at Catherine and Sidney Streets for residential development to Dashmesh Properties, a real estate company headquartered in Ludhiana, Punjab, India that is the owner-builder of the newly constructed Arabella retirement home on Dundas Street West for $800,000 ($200,000 per acre)
• Southern parcel at Bridge and Sidney streets for proposed commercial grocery store and related buildings to Goldmanco for $1.575 million (~$500,000 per acre)

THAT By-law Number 2021-23, a by-law to approve and authorize the sale of property by the Corporation of the City of Belleville to Dashmesh Properties Ltd., be read a first, second and third time and finally passed this 25th day of January, 2021

THAT By-law Number 2021-24, a by-law to approve and authorize the sale of property by the Corporation of the City of Belleville to Goldmanco Incorporated, be read a first, second and third time and finally passed this 25th day of January, 2021.

The Ben Bleecker site vacancy presented an opportunity for the city to sell the property, benefit from the cash proceeds and in future, derive property taxation from new commercial and residential development now planned by two separate future owners of the property who will split the property between them, informed Mayor Panciuk.

Mayor Panciuk tells the media the developer’s plan is to build a grocery store

There used to be an A&P where the Shoppers Drug Mart is now. Ever since it left, it’s really been an underserviced area of the city

The plan for this company is to build a grocery store and we’re looking forward to it.

We’ve done well financially on that property and I think it just sets up us to reconstruct that intersection. It’s going to be more jobs for the community, more services, future tax revenue for the city because we weren’t getting anything from there. It allows us to finish the roadwork in terms of widening Bridge Street as well as Sidney Street

Mayor Panciuk

May 18, 2021 – Belleville notifies public of Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (MCEA) of Sidney Street Widening and Bridge Street West Intersection Improvements

The City of Belleville has retained Ainley Group to complete the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (MCEA) process for the widening of Sidney Street (south of Wilkins Street southerly to Bridge Street West), and improvements to the Bridge Street West intersection.

Sidney Street Widening and Bridge Street West Intersection Improvement PIC

May 2021 – Consultant provides Planning Rationale for rezoning South from Community Facility to Commercial Use

Dillon Consulting Limited (‘Dillon’) was retained by the City of Belleville (‘the City’) to prepare a planning rationale for the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment (‘Z.B.A.’) and Official Plan Amendment (‘O.P.A.’) to support the development of the southern portion of the Ben Bleecker property (also referred to as ‘the subject property’).

The subject property is owned by the Municipality, and Council has designated the property as surplus land for redevelopment. The Municipality has conditionally sold the subject property and is obligated, as the seller, to rezone it.

The subject property is a 7.8-acre parcel of land that is bounded by Sidney Street, Catharine Street, Yeomans Street, and Bridge Street West and commonly known as the Ben Bleecker property. A separate consent process will create two separate sites for development. This report concerns the southern portion of the site (‘subject site’), which is approximately 3.16 acres and is bound by Sidney Street, Bridge Street West, and Yeomans Street.

In the southwest area of Belleville, only 2% of its commercial lands are vacant, with two
smaller retail corridors that primarily service the needs of residents in the southwest
area of the city.

The subject site is part of the “small retail node surrounding the intersection of Bridge Street and Sidney Street”, in an area that is characterized as having “limited retail options (e.g., no grocery store)” to support the local residents.

It is recognized that stores such as the Shoppers Drug Mart, Dollar Tree, and Dollarama are stocked with a limited selection of food items and consumable household items (e.g., paper towels, dish soap), but none offer the full range of items that would be found at a typical ‘grocery store’. The Giant Tiger does have a grocery section with fresh and packaged food items, as well as consumable household items.

May 17, 2021 – Public Information Centre held for Sidney St improvements

June 15, 2021 – Feedback received from area residents on Sidney St improvements

• Concerns about traffic
• Requests for a full environmental site assessment (ESA), referencing contamination near the old Nortel site.
• Worries about what kind of grocery store will move in (affordable vs. high-end).

July 5, 2021 – Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) receives rezoning applications for South and North

Council has designated the property as surplus land, and has conditionally sold the northern and southern portions of the property for redevelopment. To permit the intended future land uses for the subject land, official plan amendment and zoning by-law amendments have been concurrently filed for the northern and southern portions of the subject land.

South

The City of Belleville is proposing an Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment on the southern portion of the subject land to facilitate a new commercial development consisting of a grocery store building and another commercial building intended for other complementary tenanted uses.

Council has designated the property as surplus land for redevelopment. The Municipality has conditionally sold the subject property and is obligated, as the seller, to rezone it.

The purchaser of the subject property has provided a conceptual site plan for the development of the site. The total proposed development of this approximately 3.16 acre site would include two buildings: (1) a grocery store and (2) a commercial building
intended for other complementary tenanted use to the grocery store.

PP-2021-37

North

The City of Belleville is proposing Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments to accommodate:

246 unit residential development comprised of two (2) apartment buildings, including a twelve (12) storey apartment building with 127 units and an eight (8) storey apartment building with 83 units, as well as three (3), two (2) storey stacked townhouse buildings with a total of thirty-six (36) dwelling units on the northern portion of the property known as the Ben Bleeker property located at 40 Yeomans Street.

The land is currently designated “Community Facility” in the Official Plan and the application proposes to amend the land use designation to “Residential” land use. The proposed Official Plan designation is shown on Proposed Official Plan Map (Attachment #3).

PP-2021-38

August 3, 2021 – PAC recommends Council approve rezoning of South

THAT Pursuant to Planning Report PP-2021-46, the Planning Advisory Committee recommends the following to City Council:

THAT Belleville’s Official Plan, as amended, be amended by re-designating the southern portion of 40 Yeomans Street from Community Facility Land Use to Commercial Land Use and incorporating text amendments to permit the proposed commercial development consisting of one grocery store building and one additional building with complementary commercial uses;

and THAT Zoning By-Law Number 10245, as amended, be amended by rezoning the southern portion of 40 Yeomans Street from Community Facility (CF) Zone to Community Commercial (CC) Zone with special provisions for minimum front, rear, and exterior side yards; maximum lot coverage; maximum gross leasable floor area; and minimum required parking spaces;

and THAT a holding (h) symbol be applied to the zoning to require site plan approval as well as the completion of the necessary supporting documents to the City’s satisfaction prior to the development of the subject land.

August 9, 2021 – Council approves rezoning of South

The amended motion removed a holding condition that was not part of the sale agreement, the mayor said. The deal required the property to be rezoned, not rezoned with conditions.

He said such planning matters have to be approved quickly to preserve the projects’ timelines.

Chatham Daily News

Otherwise people can appeal and it puts the city at unnecessary risk.

Mayor Mitch Panciuk

THAT pursuant to Planning Report PP-2021-46, the Planning Advisory Committee recommends the following to City Council:

1. THAT Belleville’s Official Plan, as amended be amended, by re-designating the southern portion of 40 Yeomans Street from Community Facility Land Use to Commercial Land Use and incorporating text amendments to permit the proposed commercial development consisting of one grocery store building and one additional building with complementary commercial uses; and
2. THAT Zoning By-law Number 10245, as amended, be amended by rezoning the southern portion of 40 Yeomans Street from Community Facility (CF) Zone to Community Commercial (CC) Zone with special provisions for minimum front, rear and exterior side yards; maximum lot coverage, maximum gross leasable floor area, and minimum required parking spaces; and
3. THAT a by-law to approve an amendment to the Official Plan of the City of Belleville in accordance with the provisions of Section 21 of the Planning Act RSO 1990 be prepared for Council’s consideration.
4. THAT a by-law amending Zoning By-law Number 10245 being a by-law to regulate the use of land and the height, bulk, location, size, floor area, spacing, character and use of buildings, be prepared for Council’s consideration.

Last term we had a committee that negotiated with the Agricultural Society.  That was made up of former councillors Jack Miller, Egerton Boyce and current councillor Kelly McCaw.  They negotiated a deal to have the Ag Society move and give up the Ben Bleecker side of the property.  That’s opened the door for us to be able to now declare it surplus, sell it, and be able to consider this.

This current council, when we were considering offers to buy this property, we wanted to specifically pick one that would mean a grocery store because we had heard loud and clear from residents that they desperately need a grocery store in that part of the city and I’m so happy that we were able to deliver.

Mayor Mitch Panciuk

October 4, 2021 – Revision 1 of plan for North with fewer residential units

The applications propose to redesignate these lands from “Community Facility” to “Residential” with site specific policies and to rezone these lands from Community Facility (CF) Zone to Residential Eighth Density Zone (R8) Zone with special provisions and a holding provision.

The revised proposal would facilitate a residential development consisting of five (5), two-storey townhouse buildings consisting of 37 dwelling units, and one (1), ten-storey apartment building consisting of 100 dwelling units, for a total of 137 units.

November 1, 2021 – PAC recommends Council approve rezoning North

THAT Pursuant to Planning Report PP-2021-62, the Planning Advisory Committee recommends the following to City Council:

THAT Belleville’s Official Plan, as amended, be amended by re-designating the northern portion of 40 Yeomans Street from Community Facility Land Use to Residential Land Use and incorporating text amendments to permit the proposed residential development consisting of one (1) apartment building containing 100 units, thirty seven (37) townhouse dwelling units, and an outdoor amenity space; and

THAT this Official Plan amendment be incorporated into the new Official Plan; and

THAT Zoning By-Law Number 10245, as amended, be amended by rezoning the northern portion of 40 Yeomans Street from Community Facility (CF) Zone to Residential Eighth Density (R8-X) Zone with special provisions for relief to building and yard setbacks, maximum height, parking requirements and parking location provisions; and

THAT a holding (h) symbol be applied to the zoning to require site plan approval as well as the completion of the necessary supporting documents to the City’s satisfaction prior to the development of the subject land.

November 8, 2021 – Belleville approves rezoning North

That pursuant to Planning Report PP-2021-62, the Planning Advisory Committee recommends the following to City Council:

THAT Belleville’s Official Plan, as amended, be amended by re-designating the northern portion of 40 Yeomans Street from Community Facility Land Use to Residential Land Use and incorporating text amendments to permit the proposed residential development consisting of one (1) apartment building containing 100 units, thirty-seven (37) townhouse dwelling units, and an outdoor amenity space; and

THAT this Official Plan amendment be incorporated into the new Official Plan; and

THAT Zoning By-law Number 10245, as amended, be amended by rezoning the northern portion of 40 Yeomans Street from Community Facility (CF) Zone to Residential Eighth Density (R8-X) Zone with special provisions for relief to building and yard setbacks, maximum height, parking requirements and parking location provisions; and

THAT a holding (h) symbol be applied to the zoning to require site plan approval as well as the completion of the necessary supporting documents to the City’s satisfaction prior to the development of the subject land.

THAT a by-law to approve an amendment to the Official Plan of the City of Belleville in accordance with the provisions of Section 21 of the Planning Act RSO 1990 be prepared for Council’s consideration.

THAT a by-law amending Zoning By-law Number 10245 being a by-law to regulate the use of land and the height, bulk, location, size, floor area, spacing, character and use of buildings, be prepared for Council’s consideration.

December 6, 2021 – $850K more for intersection improvements in 2022 Capital Budget

Sidney Street and Bridge Street West – Intersection Improvements – Property & Design – Additional Funding

• $500K additional funding for Sidney St. / Bridge St. West – Intersection Improvements
  • Funded by Development Charges / Capital Levy Reserve Fund

Furthermore it will be necessary to purchase property for road widenings on Sidney Street north of Catharine Street and to remove a building on the Belleville Agricultural Fairgrounds to accommodate the utility work and road widening. The funds requested will be in addition to those allocated in 2021 and are necessary to prepare this project for construction.

Sidney Street and College Street West – Intersection & Widening – Final Design, Property & Utilities

• $350K additional funding for Sidney St. / College St. West – Intersection & Widening
  • Roads 300,000.00 $ DC’s / Capital Levy RF
  • Sanitary Sewer 20,000.00
  • Storm Sewer 10,000.00 Capital Levy RF
  • Water 20,000.00 Water User Rates

The next step in this project will be to complete the detail design of the project including the watermain and storm and sanitary sewer replacement work. It is estimated the detail design will require $250,000. Therefore a total of $350,000 is necessary to complete the property acquisitions, utility relocations and detail design.

January 2022 – MCEA recommends additional turn lanes and traffic signals instead of a roundabout

March 21, 2022 – Sale of north finalized

May 10, 2022 – Goldmanco places a For Lease sign on South property

May 19, 2022 – Committee of Adjustment approves Dashmesh severance request to allow development of apartments and townhouses on separate parcels

The application proposes to separate the development of the proposed apartment building and townhouse dwelling buildings on separate parcels:

• No additional dwelling units have been proposed by the applicant;
• The Official Plan designation is “Residential;”
• The application as proposed has regard to Section 2 of the Planning Act, is supported by and is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, conforms to the policies of Belleville’s Official Plan, and is consistent with the Zoning By-Law; and
• Staff recommends that the Application for Consent be approved.

The application was introduced explaining the property was redesignated and rezoned for the development of an apartment building and townhouses. The purpose of the application is to create a new residential lot to separate the development of the apartment building and town houses onto separate lots, allowing for separate services. Rezoning is a condition of consent.

…

In response to questions from committee members, Mr. Hutchison explained development timelines are unavailable as zoning and site plan applications are still pending.

THAT the requested severance to sever one (1) residential lot with 50.2 metres of frontage on Catharine Street and 0.5758 hectares of lot area, which will facilitate the development of the proposed apartment building and townhouse dwelling buildings on separate parcels, be approved, subject to the following conditions:

• a) the financial requirements of the City with respect to Tax Arrears and/or other outstanding charges levied against the subject property to be satisfied;
• b) approval of an appropriate zoning by-law amendment to rezone the retained severed and retained parcels to comply with the applicable zoning by-law;
• c) the necessary deeds to be submitted in triplicate, along with one digital copy and one paper copy of a deposited plan of survey (R-plan), or a legal description
  acceptable to the Registrar of Deeds, and Conditions a) to b) inclusive be fulfilled prior to the issuance of the Consent Certificate;
• d) Conditions a) to c) inclusive to be fulfilled within two (2) years of the Committee’s Decision.

June 13, 2022 – Traffic Impact Study finds development will not add significant delay or congestion to the local roadway network

The proposed development consists of 86 single detached units and 71 townhouse units.

Access to the development will be provided via extension of Wilson Avenue between Palmer Road and Sydney Street. The proposed development is expected to generate a total of 110 AM and 137 PM peak hour trips.

The proposed development will not cause any operational issues and will not add significant delay or congestion to the local roadway network.

August 8, 2022 – Council approves $500K increase to Sidney Street / Bridge Street West Intersection Improvements in 2022 Capital Budget, merges project with Avonlough Sewage Pumping Station

Originally estimated at roughly $1M, increase brought the total to $1.5M.

The as per RFP-ENG2022-02, AECOM Canada will widen the Bridge/Sidney intersection for $1.07M. The project was merged with the Avonlough Sewage Pumping Station and Conveyance System project given significant links between the two municipal works items. Council has approved spending for both projects of $3.1 million for the work to be carried out by AECOM Canada Ltd.

The road widening and intersection design work will include:

• Widening Sidney Street to 5 lanes between Bridge Street West and Catharine Street (2-northbound lanes, 2-southbound lanes, one centre two-way left turn lane).
• Widening Sidney Street to 4 lanes between Catharine Street and Wilkins Street.
• Reconstructing and widening the Bridge Street West / Sidney Street intersection to include one dedicated left turn lane, one through lane, and one shared through / right turn lane on all approaches. Pedestrian crossings will be provided on each approach.
• Reconstructing the Sidney Street / Catharine Street intersection to become a 4-way intersection and making provisions for future traffic signals. This will accommodate the redevelopment of the former Agricultural Fairgrounds site on the west side of Sidney Street.
• Reconstructing the Bridge Street West / Yeomans Street / Wellington Street intersection to provide for future traffic signals.
• Reconstructing the Bridge Street West / Dunnet Boulevard intersection into a 4-way intersection and making provisions for future traffic signals to accommodate the redevelopment of the former Agricultural Fairgrounds site.
• Relocation of the multi-use trail along Bridge Street West to accommodate the improvements.
• Addition of landscape elements such as low level planter beds (similar to Bell Boulevard) along Bridge Street West.

These two capital projects have been merged into a single design assignment because there
is a significant overlap of these two projects with the sewer outlet for the Avonlough SPS
running along Bridge Street West including through the Bridge Street West / Sidney Street
intersection. Therefore the work on Bridge Street West associated with one project cannot be
completed without impacting the work on Bridge Street West for the other project; which
makes it necessary to combine the two projects for efficiency and economy. For this reason,
the two projects have been combined for design purposes with the construction phasing for
both projects to be established through the design process.

ENG 2022-08

September 26, 2022 – Council passes bylaw to regulate the acquisition and disposition of real property

October 2022 – East (townhouses) portion listed for sale for $2.9M, $2.1M more than was paid for the entire property ($800K)

according to a property listing posted October [2022] by Joseph Shunock, a real estate broker who is retained by the City of Belleville for the sale of surplus municipal lands, the severed portion of the land intended for 37 townhouses was advertised for a price of $2.9 million or $2.1 million more than the original price of the entire north Ben Bleecker property.

The Intelligencer

January 3, 2023 – Dashmesh requests to split property into 2 parcels that can be developed separately, PAC asks for staff report

The land would be split into west (apartments) and east (townhouses), with Dashmesh retaining the west portion and selling the east to another developer.

The reason the rezoning is being applied for:

• It is takes a lot of resources to develop both projects concurrently;

Therefore by subdividing the property into two parcels, each parcel can be developed as its own focus and not be tied to the development of the abutting project;

This will bring much needed housing to the market much quicker.

This application is considered to be technical in nature; there is no proposed change to the future use and development of the subject lands as outlined in the current R8-2-h zoning of the subject lands (one high-rise apartment and townhouses);

To expedite the development of a high-rise apartment building and townhouses on these lands it is more efficient to develop the property as two separate parcels;

The Belleville Committee of Adjustment conditionally approved a severance of the subject lands into two (2) parcels on May 19, 2022;

One of the conditions of approval of the severance is for the lands to be rezoned;

The westerly severed parcel will house the apartment building while the easterly retained parcel will house the townhouses;

It is requested that the westerly property retain the current R8-2-h zoning but be amended to remove the permission for townhouses and make the zoning more site specific for the reduced use;

As you can appreciate, a 10-story apartment building and 25 townhouses all on one block requires a massive amount of economic input to develop,

The object here is to separate the apartment from the townhouses and allow two developers to develop the properties separately.

…

By severing the properties, it will expedite development of the subject land, one developer can focus on the apartment building, the other developer can focus on the townhouses. Otherwise you would really need a developer with deep pockets to do a 10-storey apartment building and 37 townhouses at one go

Spencer Hutchison of RFA Planning, agent for Dashmesh

The application asked for consent from the city to sever and rezone the property into two parcels in a new application in which Dashmesh Properties would retain the smaller western portion to build the 10-storey apartment building and then offer to sell the east end of the parcel to another developer.

The Intelligencer

February 6, 2023 – PAC recommends Council approve rezoning request

Planning Staff are of the opinion that the recommendation within this report to amend the Residential Eighth Density (R8-2) Zone, rezone retained parcel from Residential Eighth Density (R8-2) Zone to Residential Fifth Density (R5-46) Zone, and apply a Holding Symbol has regard to Section 2 of the Planning Act, is supported by and is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, conforms to the policies of Belleville’s Official Plan and meets the general intent of the Zoning Bylaw.

Staff supports and recommends approval of the application, as it represents good planning.

PP-2023-08

February 13, 2023 – Council approves rezoning request

THAT the Planning Advisory Committee recommends the following to City Council:

THAT Application B-77-1179 to amend the City of Belleville Zoning By-law Number 10245, as amended for Northern Portion of 40 Yeomans Street, now City of Belleville, be APPROVED as follows:

THAT Zoning By-law Number 10245, as amended, be amended by modifying the Residential Eighth Density (R8-2) Zone to only permit a ten (10) storey apartment building with special provisions for lot frontage, exterior side yard, parking setbacks, parking requirements, bicycle parking requirements, landscaped area, and building height; and to rezone the eastern portion of the subject land from Residential Eighth Density (R8-2) Zone to Residential Fifth Density (R5-46) Zone to permit 25 townhouse dwellings with special provisions for yard depths, building height, parking setbacks, private amenity area, communal amenity area, and fence height; and

THAT a Holding (H) Symbol be applied to the zoning to require site plan approval as well as the completion of the necessary supporting documents to the City’s satisfaction prior to the development of the subject land.

THAT a by-law amending Zoning By-law Number 10245 being a by-law to regulate the use of land and the height, bulk, location, size, floor area, spacing, character and use of buildings, be prepared for Council’s consideration.

By-law 2023-24

PP-2023-08

January 18, 2023 – CAO: Belleville doesn’t use restrictive covenants in order to maximize the sale price

The Intelligencer has fielded concerns from West Hill residents asking whether there were any restrictive covenants placed by the city on the original sale of the Ben Bleecker property once owned by taxpayers.

Belleville city clerk Matt MacDonald told The Intelligencer in an interview that unlike industrial property sales by the city — which require restrictive covenants and time limits to build — residential sales by the city do not require such stipulations generally.

Covenants you are thinking about are generally provisions that we put in agreements related to industrial land sales. In industrial parks, those are heavily restricted as it relates to a) can’t flip and b) development has to start within a specific amount of time,

“Covenants you are thinking about are generally provisions that we put in agreements related to industrial land sales. In industrial parks, those are heavily restricted as it relates to a) can’t flip and b) development has to start within a specific amount of time,” MacDonald said.

By contrast, for residential sales, MacDonald said, “there is nothing in the Municipal Act that would preclude them (the owners) from selling property that they had purchased from the municipality.”

“From our perspective, again, we have no operational requirement for that property so we are selling it. Our obligation is to publicly sell it so we certainly can’t sole source sell it to someone without publicly offering it for sale so we sold it to the highest bidder through a public process which is what we are obliged to do,” MacDonald said.

“Once it’s out of our hands, it is privately owned and they can do with it as they wish,” he said.

Selling city-owned residentially designated lands that serve no obvious purpose help buoy city coffers with new revenues.

The city, he said, could put a covenant on non-industrial lands but it would make the sale of municipal properties more difficult given purchasers would not likely welcome buying properties that come with city imposed conditions.

“If we were selling a residential building lot and we put those restrictive convenants on property, I’m sure that you can anticipate that it would reduce the pool of potential purchasers if we were erecting what you could and could not do and when you could and could not do it,” MacDonald said.

A representative of the developer declined comment when reached by The Intelligencer.

The Intelligencer

February 13, 2023 – Council approves update to Real Property Acquisition and Disposition Policy

Previous Policy PM-001, Land Acquisition and PM-002, Land Sales Policy to guide the process of acquisition, disposition and leasing of City of Belleville owned land were adopted in 2007 and required modernization.

September 25, 2023 – Councillor Carr points out 40 Yeomans Street for being sold after rezoning, while no development has taken place

We’re doing our part in terms of moving the needle for more housing.

But we still have delays in construction, I want to touch on that very briefly because as much as we are hitting our targets, and we will hit our targets I believe, we still are slow.

A very prominent address is 40 Yeomans Street, the old Ben Bleaker property at the North End. Originally we zoned the north half of that as one block in November 2021. Nothing happened, I’ve heard that the property has sold and then has now been repurchased and the north half has now been rezoned into two blocks in February 2023. There’s no site plan application to date, so that land sits.

…

While builders have said – and I’ve got a long list here and I won’t go into it – they say they’re building, but yet we can point to examples where we’ve done what we have to do, or we’ve done what we can do, to the point where there’s nothing coming forward from a developer or a builder to move those approvals on, that’s a concern.

… So when I cite examples where we’re approving things, but yet it sits, that’s a problem in terms of the permits. In essence, we are getting evaluated, if you will, based on what’s being done in the private sector to get it to a building permit. That’s a concern. We should be evaluated on what we can control, not what others can control.

December 5, 2023 – Sewage lines to be installed starting 2025

The work will also allow major housing and commercial development to occur on the former Ben Bleecker property, the fairgrounds property on the east side of Sidney Street and on vacant land bordered by West Moira and North Palmer streets.

…

If all goes according to plan, west end residents can expect detours off Bridge Street West, as sewage lines are installed beginning in 2025 and carrying on through 2026 and perhaps into 2027.

Quinte News

December 31, 2024 – Bridge/Sidney Intersection Improvements to be completed by December 2027

$2.4M total budget approved with $800K remaining before being combined with Avonlough Sewage Pumping Station.

Detail design being combined with the Avonlough Sewage Pumping Station and commenced in 2022. 90% milestone reached. Elexicon utility pole relocations to commence in 2025.

May 15, 2025 – Dashmesh applies for consent to renew previously approved but expired severance

Severed: 0.5758 hectares, one (1) ten-storey apartment building containing 107 units

Retained: 1.073 hectares, thirty-eight (38) two-storey townhouse dwelling units

• The subject property is located at 40 Yeomans Street;
• In 2022, both a consent (B 9/22) and zoning amendment (B-77-1179) were approved for a proposed severance of a proposed apartment building and townhouse dwellings onto two separate lots;
• The approved consent (B 9/22) was granted the standard two years to fulfill the typical conditions of severance prior to the issuance of a final consent certificate;
• However, the two-year period has lapsed, and the full list of required conditions was not fulfilled, resulting in the approved consent (B 9/22) being null and void;
• Therefore, this consent application PLCST20250094 proposes a renewal of consent B 9/22 with no new changes being proposed;
• The Official Plan designation is Residential Land Use;
• The application as proposed has regard to Section 2 of the Planning Act, is supported by and is consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement, and conforms to the policies of Belleville’s Official Plan; and
• Staff recommends that the Application for Consent be approved.

COA-2025-13

THAT the requested consent PLCST20250094 to sever one (1) new residential lot with approximately 50.2 metres of lot frontage on Catharine Street and approximately 5,758.0 square metres of lot area, be approved, subject to the following conditions:

a) the financial requirements of the City with respect to Tax Arrears and/or other outstanding charges levied against the subject property to be satisfied;

b) that the severed and retained parcels have independent municipal sanitary sewer and water service connections;

c) approval of appropriate zoning amendment to comply with the applicable Zoning By-law prior to any development on the severed and retained parcels;

d) the necessary deeds to be submitted along with a digital copy of a deposited plan of survey (R-plan), or a legal description acceptable to the Registrar of Deeds, and Conditions a) to c) inclusive be fulfilled prior to the issuance of the Consent Certificate;

e) Conditions a) to d) inclusive to be fulfilled within two (2) years of the Committee’s Decision.