Belleville Council has agree to add $800,000 to the 2019 budget to purchase the former Hillcrest School from the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board.
The city already owns the piece of land to the west of the former school, which is home to the Hillcrest Community Centre and will eventually host the Belleville Lawn Bowling Club as well.
The purchase will allow the city to combine that property with the 6.29 acre former school site on West Street and will be covered by the Capital Levy Reserve which has a balance of just under $8 million.
The initial plan for the area, once the deal is finalized in January, is to have more green space and potentially some housing, with Mayor Mitch Panciuk saying there will be “robust consultation” about that moving forward.
Meanwhile, the City of Belleville is going to be taking purchase offers on the Ben Bleecker property in the city’s west end.
After recently declaring the land as surplus and arranging to move the Belleville Lawn Bowling Club to the site of the former Hillcrest School, the city says it is now ready to talk to potential buyers.
Mayor Mitch Panciuk says there are a lot of possibilities for the almost eight acre site, at Bridge and Sidney Streets.
The mayor says they plan to sell the property as a whole, because that’s expected to be the most attractive option for potential developers and that interested buyers can contact the city’s realtor Joe Shunock.
