Black Bear Ridge Golf Course expansion well underway

It is the largest development project in the City of Belleville’s history.

Work is underway on a $1.54 billion resort/residential/commercial development project surrounding the Black Bear Ridge Golf Course.

The property was acquired in August 2021 by Black Bear Ridge GP Inc.

“I played the golf course on the way to a cottage north of Kingston back around 2008 or 2009 and was obviously very impressed,” said President and Managing Partner of the Black Bear Ridge Golf Course, Alex Sharpe.

“When it came up for sale (in 2020), what I didn’t realize, when I came as a visitor to the golf course, was how much extra land was surrounding the golf course itself.”

835 acres of land were acquired as part of the golf course purchase.  Two humdred acres of that land was dedicated to the golf course. The rest was environmental and development land.

Two additional pieces of land adjacent to the property were also acquired, including land along Harmony Rd. and land along Homan Rd.  In total, around 900 acres of property were acquired.

Location was also a “huge” factor in the acquisition.

“The ability to acquire that much land only seven minutes from the 401. Next to really what is the sort of main commercial hub for the (Quinte) region,” said Sharpe.

“The golf course and the land surrounding it are just stunning.  It’s rolling hills and just very mature trees.  It’s just a stunning part of the province.”

Renovations have already begun on the property surrounding the golf course with two of the three housing units on the property already fully renovated with the third property near completion.

“The one home used to be (former owner) Brian Magee’s sort of family residence when he was on the property and that’s been converted to a nine-bedroom, 20-bed suite house. Sort of like a large corporate gathering space. We’ve rebuilt it from the inside out,” Sharpe tells Quinte News.

“The other home is eight bedrooms, 16 beds in total.  Each room is equipped in the same manner. It’s sort of grown-up style bunk beds with a queen, and then a twin extra long on the top with a private light and a plug for your phone.”

All three homes are being used as rental housing properties.

The greens of the golf course itself will remain intact.

Sharpe says he hopes the upgrades will help make the course more “inclusive and accessible” and bring more newcomers to the game.

“Golf has this stigma of a stuffy, intimidating sport. We really want to throw that on its head and showcase the beautiful property for what it is,” Sharpe tells Quinte News.

At full build out, plans include 3,000 residential units, as well as a four-season resort, a hotel/motel, a clubhouse, cabins, a spa and wellness centre, bike paths and trails.

“We’re just in the early stages of preparing the additional reports and mobilizing the various consultants to keep that process moving forward,” Sharpe said.

The project is expected to take “many decades” to complete.