The land that was expected to house a Costco Warehouse in Belleville is on the real estate market.
Quinte News has learned that the Bell Boulevard property, west of the casino, is listed for sale.
A source tells Quinte News that the Rice Group, a GTA developer, overseeing work on a parcel of land on Bell Boulevard Belleville, has allowed an agreement on the site to lapse. The project is not listed on either the Rice Group or the Costco website.
Does this mean that Costco is not coming to Belleville? NO.
Costco has been not been building a lot in Canada since the pandemic and they do have other projects in the cue ahead of a possible Belleville location. In the City of Brantford, rumours were swirling for years about the membership-based chain. This past May, Brantford Council approved a permit for a $33,500,000 Costco Warehouse property.
We have also been told that the Costco in Kingston is being looked at for a new location.
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The Rice Group, which works with Costco, did have a lease agreement for the parcel of land on Bell Boulevard. It is believed that agreement was extended a few times, but has now lapsed. An official at Rice Group confirmed they do not have a Belleville location they are working on.
It is important to note that the Belleville site was never officially sold to the Rice Group or to Costco, even when the site was rezoned by council in early 2019.
In a 2020 Quinte News story, former Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk said that it was never a question of if Costco was coming, but a matter of when. He added the COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies to re-evaluate the timing of projects and how they were executed.
CAO for the City of Belleville Rod Bovay says at last check, the location was okayed by the Costco head office in Washington State. He says it has been pretty quiet over the last year however. Bovay believes there was an option to purchase the land, however, it does not mean that it could not be posted for sale.
The Real Estate Agent is John Belanger of ReMax Quinte.
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A look east down Bell Boulevard Belleville
32-36 Bell Boulevard is listed for sale for $35,ooo,ooo. That is an 89-acre parcel of commercial/industrial land, adjacent to the TownePlace Suites Belleville and Shorelines Casino Belleville (to the west, on the north side of Bell Boulevard).
When the project was first announced to the public, original estimates looked at a 2020 opening. Fourteen other businesses and a gas bar were also discussed for the land. There would have been millions of dollars in start up fees, along with more than seven figures annually to the municipal tax base.
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The listing details a 40-acre piece of the land, zoned to include large format retail space. The land is owned by JenLand Properties, and is part of 255 acres on both the north and south side of Bell Boulevard.
The proposed 14-business Belleville project could bring hundreds of jobs to the region.
The City of Belleville spent millions of dollars on the Bell Boulevard Expansion Project, which included work around the proposed site. It included:
- widening Bell Boulevard from two lanes to four lanes
- making improvements to signalized intersections
- adding new turning lanes as required
- providing a multi-use trail for cyclists and pedestrians
