Belleville zoning by-laws changed to allow Costco development

Belleville city council voted Monday to change zoning by-laws to allow Costco to come to Belleville. Photo by Liam Radford, QNetNews

By Liam Radford

BELLEVILLE – Belleville city council unanimously voted to change to zoning by-laws Monday that will allow work to begin on the Costco development on Bell Boulevard.

” This is a very big day for Belleville,” Mayor Panciuk said. “It may be one of the most significant announcements of development in our history.”

If development now goes ahead on schedule, the 13,950 square metre Costco will open in 2020 bringing over 800 jobs to the city. The development will also include spaces for 14 other businesses and a Costco gas station.

The city will receive about $2.1 million in start up fees and development charges as well as $1.3 million in annual taxes from Costco.

The development is planned for a 18 hectare piece of land on Bell Boulevard next to the Marriott hotel. Traffic is expected to increase once it opens so the city is paying to expand the boulevard and add traffic lights to accommodate the traffic. The road expansion has been added as an item in the city’s 2019 capital budget. 

Before the vote in council Mayor Panciuk said, ” When we look back and see that the number of people that come in each and every year because of the Quinte Mall and the number of businesses there and the jobs that that it brings, we would all say that it was a really important step for us. Well today we set forth to welcome Costco and what future development will be there.”