Some plans for major redevelopment of the former Ben Bleecker site, at Bridge and Sidney streets in Belleville, are taking a step forward.
At a city council meeting Monday night it was announced that the property was sold to two buyers for a total of just over $2.3 million.
The northern four acres will be sold to Dashmesh Properties at a cost of $800,000, with a plan to build apartment buildings there, but no other details on that were released.
Meanwhile, the southern three acres will be sold to Goldmanco Inc. with a price tag of more than $1.5 million with plans to build retail space, a food outlet and likely a grocery store, which residents in that area have long been asking for.
Mayor Mitch Panciuk says it’s a great deal for the city and residents in that area.
“We’ve done well financially on that property and I think it just sets us up to reconstruct that intersection. It’s going to mean more jobs for the community, more services, future tax revenue for the city, since we weren’t getting anything there. It allows us to finish that road work, in terms of widening of Bridge Street as well as Sidney Street.”
Both developers have current footprints in Belleville already, with Dashmesh owning and operating the new Arabella Retirement Living building on Dundas Street and Goldmanco Inc. owning the Loyalist Plaza, already at the intersection of Bridge and Sidney.
Panciuk says a lot of the process has been impacted by COVID-19, including a delay in getting some environmental permits, but he hopes there will be some activity on the site by the end of 2021.
