Mayor Mitch Pancfiuk says he’s “excited” to see the four proposals presented to council for development of the Memorial Arena and the Canadian Legion building.
Four presentations were made to city council Tuesday night.
“We want to go ahead with the Downtown Commons development to provide more community space….this is going to be a launch pad,” he said.
Panciuk added it was great to see the presentations, which he said have the potential to change the face of downtown Belleville for years to come.
He said this will offer an opportunity to work on community space at the riverfront, former home to the Cabaret which has been knocked down.
Panciuk indicated it is now time to hear from members of the community.
“This step is really important for us. This is going to be a launchpad to the future of Belleville downtown.”
Panciuk noted that the decisions made regarding the Memorial and Legion buildings were necessary before the city can move forward with the next stage of downtown redevelopment and the Downtown Commons project.
“That gives us a huge opportunity to bring community space right on the most attractive part of our city which is our riverfront,” he said. “We also need to update Market Square and make it a little more user-friendly.
“It would be foolish to do all that and not consider the future of the Memorial Arena. So we have had to wait to start that process until we can tie this up.”
At the Decermber 9 council meeting, residents will have three minutes to speak to council about the Memorial and Legion projects.
The city will also be posting an online survey on its website, along with posting copies of the presentations for people to access from the website. There will also be hard copies available to look at at City Hall.
Panciuk said that “unlocking the Memorial and the Legion and what that means is that we can do everything else and it’s critically important. It’s an exiting impact of changes for generations to come.”
Panciuk emphasized after the meeting that the OpportunityShop and the Legion Branch 99 will be assisted in relocating. “We made a commitment not to throw them out on the street,” he said.
