Belleville council has unanimously voted against designating a building located beside the former Hotel Quinte property as a heritage property and therefore is paving the way for a six-storey commercial/residential development to proceed.
While some on council didn’t like the idea of tearing the building down several noted it had been altered inside and out several times and that the need for housing took precedence over saving the building.
The developers stated their 108-unit condo building would not proceed without demolishing the building and a demolition permit application is now before city staff for approval.
The building was constructed in 1909 and now contains a physiotherapy clinic and some residential space.
While councillors Garnet Thompson and Chris Malette expressed regret about the building being torn down, all agreed it was time to develop the property and high density housing on the location made good sense.
Representing the developers was Sukh Thind who said the original plan was to just use the former hotel property but they needed more space for single level underground parking and a fire route.
“There were two levels of underground parking in the previous owner’s plan and we found that that would be cost-prohibitive.”
Thind said his group believed it might not even be possible to dig two levels down due to the rock on the site.
The developers propose a historical display about the building at 217 Pinnacle in the new development. The property had been owned in the 1800s by a prominent businessman and mayor of the city George Tickell.
The building was also home to several physicians over the years.
The building at 217 Pinnacle had been listed as being of heritage value in 2014. The list contained over 120 other properties.
However, council would have to designate any property as having heritage value before it would be protected from demolition or significant alteration.
