Phase 3 of Build Belleville project postponed

Streets have been closed in downtown Belleville for many months because of Build Belleville construction. Photo by Emilie Quesnel, QNet News

By Isaiah Mawhinney and Emilie Quesnel

BELLEVILLE – City council has decided to delay Phase 3 of the Build Belleville downtown rehabilitation project due to limited funding.

The budget for the project as a whole is $21 million, but Phase 1 of the three planned phases has already cost over half that.

With only $8.1 million remaining,  city staff said they knew they couldn’t complete Phases 2 and 3 without going over budget.

Phase 2 will be tendered in January 2016 while Phase 3 has been postponed until alternative funding becomes available.

This week QNet News is talking to the Build Belleville co-ordinator as well as downtown businesses about the impact and future of the project.

For more information about the project, visit here, or check Twitter for updates from QNet News.