TaskForce Engineering to head Memorial Arena project

By Max Reid

BELLEVILLE – TaskForce Engineering will be taking the lead on the redevelopment of Memorial Arena and the Legion building in Belleville’s downtown core.

That decision was made at Monday night’s city council meeting.

The Belleville-based construction firm won their $900,000 bid for the landmark properties, beating out three other companies each with very different ideas on how best to revitalize the heart of the city.

TaskForce plans to redevelop the historically-significant Memorial Arena into a boutique shopping centre with it’s own grocery store, microbrewery, wine store and fitness centre. The floor plans also feature an upper mezzanine floor with space dedicated to vendor booths.

Perhaps most importantly to locals who may be concerned about the Memorial no longer having an association with hockey, the plans for the building include a display depicting the history of the Belleville McFarlands, the world champions in 1959.

TaskForce’s proposal would also see the former Legion Branch 99 being converted into a residential building with room for 20-24 affordable housing units built with layouts and amenities catered towards senior living.

When asked what drew council toward TaskForce’s pitch in particular, Mayor Mitch Panciuk named the affordable housing aspect of the plan as a key selling point. “They (council) liked some of the concepts for the retail side of it” as well, says Panciuk.

The timeline for construction outlined in the proposal would see the construction and redevelopment of both buildings complete by about 2022-2023.