We know a little more about what could be done about the former Royal Bank of Canada building in downtown Belleville.
The landmark building was bought in 2021 by Nick Di Donato, president of Liberty Entertainment Group who operates a number of high-end dining establishments, nightclubs, and other entertainment venues in both Toronto and Miami.
Speaking on The Lorne Brooker Show on 800 CJBQ on Wednesday, Di Donato was asked about the plans for the building.
He said it relates back to the gentrification of the downtown core.
“The first thing, with respect to gentrification, is bringing people downtown, bringing people to live in the (downtown) core. So I think that was one of the challenges in downtown Belleville. There’s not enough people living there to support the local businesses that are there,” Di Donato explained to Lorne Brooker.
“With the bank building itself, we could have had just one individual building with a retail store. We decided that the facility was large enough to provide seven large apartments and two bedroom apartments … it’s not just small 500 square foot, 300 square foot apartments, but much larger to provide the people a place to live downtown.”
Di Donato says he hopes with more people living downtown, more other venues will follow.
“The more gentrification you have, the more the retail stores will come and support the area and other people will come to the area,” Di Donato said.
“So I think that’s the key right now is to bring people, provide them a place where they can live, and provide some spectacular venues or apartments and I think the rest will follow.”
