Belleville City Hall Photo by Trevor Knapaysweet
By Trevor Knapaysweet [1]
BELLEVILLE – Belleville exceeded its goal of building housing units in 2023 and was awarded $1.24 million from the provincial government through the Building Faster Fund.
The city had set a target of 417 housing units to be constructed last year, and proudly completed that goal by building 644 units, which is 35% over their target. over a quarter more than the initial goal.
The Building Faster Fund [2] is a 3-year, $1.2 billion program that is based on performance of meeting housing construction goals. Ontario plans to have 1.5 million houses built by 2031. The fund will provide $400 million annually for 3 years to municipalities that are on track to meet their housing goals. Belleville received about 5% of the overall project fund for 2023.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford met with Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis on March 1st to announce the accomplished goal and award the city a giant cheque of $1.24 million. The mayor jokingly said the large novelty cheque wouldn’t fit in an ATM. Ford commented that Belleville is a great partner for the government as the land they prepare will be ready for companies to move in and set up. Ford noted that Belleville needs the infrastructure and said to “stay tuned for a potential infrastructure announcement coming soon”.
Ford said he can’t wait to bring a bigger cheque to Belleville next year. The mayor will hold him on that promise.
The money provided by the province will go towards supporting the $55 million Avonlough Sewage Pumping Station [3] that will enable lands to open up on the west end of Belleville, providing service to 20,000 residents. Belleville has a population of over 55,000.