Belleville businesses hope to entice Costco customers downtown

As Global News reported last week, Costco is planning to expand to the friendly city.

The retail giant will anchor a new shopping centre slated for Bell Boulevard. But as more shoppers are drawn uptown, what impact could this have on stores in Belleville’s downtown?

Kathryn Brown is the chair of the Belleville Downtown Improvement Area board of management. She’s also a small business owner on Front Street.

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Brown says there are over 200 business members with downtown Belleville, all looking to the future with a renewed sense of optimism. Sean Kelly is a Belleville city councillor.

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The city has spent millions of dollars on infrastructure repairs in the core. Richard Belanger, the owner operator of Scalliwag Toys, has been a part of the downtown scene for nearly 35 years. He says a vibrant downtown is extremely important and he’s looking forward to some fresh ideas from the Improvement Area Board.