Not only will affordable housing come to the former Queen Mary School site, but an amendment Belleville council approved Tuesday will also add more parkland space West Hill residents have been requesting.
Council approved a recommendation to approve the only tender from All-Together Housing Inc. to purchase part of the land for apartments.
The company, which has built several affordable housing projects in Belleville, Quinte West and elsewhere, submitted a proposal for a 90-unit building, including 45 affordable apartments and 18 accessible units.
All-Together Housing’s purchase tender was for $1,250,000 plus tax.
The other parts of the land were up for a Request for Proposal process, with city staff coming away with three options to address the vacant school building.
These included expanding the parkland, demolishing the school building for the purpose of building affordable housing, or explore a potential adaptive re-use opportunity for the building.
Staff ultimately recommended demolishing the school for affordable housing.
Mayor Neil Ellis proposed an amendment to demolish the school to make way for expanded parkland as a compromise for West Hill residents who expressed concerns about the amount of green space that would be preserved.
The resulting parkland will be 2.65 acres.
Councillor Barbara Enright-Miller showed support for the amendment.
“The building would be demolished, and this land would be left for our friends at the West Hill, who we heard loud and clear, and we spoke to on several occasions that this would, I think, satisfy their need of a park in the area,” Councillor Enright-Miller said during council on Tuesday.
“I think this is a fabulous step forward for the West Hill residents.”
Councillor Garnet Thompson said while he supported West Hill residents, he expressed concerns about the need for more housing units.
“I appreciate the amendment, and I appreciate the residents because I’m there with two or three people, and we want to make the best deal for the people up there in the West Hill for parkland,” Councillor Thompson explained.
“But I am concerned about housing on city property that we own and the possibility of getting some development there. So I’m a little concerned about going to 2.6 acres.”
In a recorded vote, council voted 8-1 in support of the amendment with the lone no vote coming from Councillor Thompson.
You can read the full report here.
