Detailed designs and studies can now get underway on a massive recreation/housing development proposed for the Black Bear Ridge Golf Course property in Belleville’s Thurlow Ward.
Tuesday Mayor Mitch Panciuk announced that at 6 p.m. Friday the provincial government officially approved a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) which essentially allows the developers to skip the very early stages of the city’s property rezoning process, saving time and money.
There will still be public consultation on how the $1.5 billion project will be built out.
The Black Bear Ridge property encompasses over 900 acres of land and plans include recreational facilities, restaurants and tourist accommodation, and housing of various types. When completely finished – an effort that will take several years – it’s expected the property will feature around 3,000 residential units on municipal water/sewer.
Despite the size of the project only about 40% of the land will be developed with the rest left in its natural state.
President and Managing Partner with Black Bear Ridge Alex Sharpe said it’s been a pleasure working with city staff and council so far.
“I’ve been in the business for nearly two decades and ultimately this has been one of the freshest experiences from the standpoint of working collaboratively with the municipality.”
For his part Panciuk called it a great day for the city. “There’s three key parts to this project moving forward. The community consultation process will play an important role in how best to build out the project. The fact that we were able to consolidate the property and save 60% of the land from development serves the environment well and this $1.5 billion project is historic and transformative for the community.”
“The only thing that we could probably compare this to would be the decision of the federal government to create CFB Trenton. When we talk about an investment of this magnitude in our community, it is literally record setting.”
Developers hope to have a draft plan of the subdivision in front of the city by the end of next year and hope to begin running water/sewer infrastructure to the site the same year or in 2025.
Initial plans for Black Bear Ridge property.
