Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk says a major property development could is on its way to the city, bringing hundreds of jobs along with it.
In late January, an application was submitted to city council regarding land owned by Jenland Properties. The application lays out plans to use 40 acres of land for a retail development on the north side of Bell Boulevard west of Shorelines Casino.
The anchor store of the development would be a warehouse membership club, which Panciuk would not name, while 12 other buildings within the development would house gas bars, restaurants, gyms and other retail businesses.
The warehouse membership club is slated to be the biggest building of the development, with an area of 155,000 square feet. Panciuk says a gas station will be built adjacent to the warehouse store.
Plans for the major retail development will go to the planning committee in March and to council for final approval on April 8. If the development is voted through, Panciuk expects the builders to lay the pad for the warehouse before next winter and says the membership club should be open by spring 2020.
It could take a little longer for the rest of the businesses to settle in — Panciuk estimated up to seven years for all 12 buildings to be complete — but all in all, the mayor says that when the development is finished, it could bring up to 800 jobs to the city.
The name of the membership club will be revealed in April if council approves the development.