Belleville City Council received an update into the progress of Habitat Village, the five-storey, 66-unit condo-style affordable housing complex being built on the site of the former police station on 93 Dundas Street.
In a deputation to council on Monday, CEO Hazzem Koudsi says that the project has been hit with an unexpected delay due to additional groundwater testing that is needed before receiving a record of site condition.
“Environment Canada needs a clean and second phased assessment before they issue a record of site condition. So they had to drill some extra bore holes,” Koudsi explained to council during his deputation.
“We’re waiting for the results on that before we can get that clean record of site condition.”
He explained further after being asked by Councillor Paul Carr about when Habitat for Humanity would assume title on the property.
“When we started the environmental assessment of the site, we really didn’t expect to find anything, because it was a church, and then the police station, there was a oil water tank separator in underneath where the garage was, and we knew that might have been an area of concern,” Koudsi said.
“We aren’t able to get a sufficient groundwater assessment, and so we had to dig some extra holes and deeper to find groundwater, and that’s what’s taking some time.”
Koudsi said that Habitat for Humanity can assume title six months after receiving the record of site condition.
As for fundraising efforts, Habitat for Humanity has passed the 50 percent mark of its $8.3 million target.
Koudsi says it is “likely” a Request For Quote (RFQ) on the project would be issued on Tuesday, with the hope to have the RFQ process completed sometime in August.
“It’s an aggressive schedule to try and break ground by Spring and then have an occupancy by June of 2028 or summer of 2028 but within the Build Canada Homes funding principles, modern methods of construction are what they’re looking for,” Koudsi said.
“So we can take a look at what RFQ comes forward and decide price versus cost, value versus timelines.”
A link to the presentation can be found at the City of Belleville’s website.
