BELLEVILLE - The Honourable Chris Bentley, Attorney General of Ontario and the Honourable Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Education and MPP for Prince Edward-Hastings, joined community members to celebrate the official groundbreaking of the new Quinte Consolidated Courthouse.

The construction project will stimulate the local and regional economies by supporting and creating jobs. At the peak of construction activity, Brookfield Partnerships Quinte estimates 200 workers will be on the site daily. Construction of the new courthouse is expected to be completed in 2013. 

The new facility, to be located at 15 Bridge Street W., will improve access to justice for the County of Hastings by consolidating the Superior Court of Justice and Ontario Court of Justice, which are currently operating in four court locations - three in Belleville and one in Trenton.  

The new multi-storey building will increase the number of available courtrooms, provide better security and improve access for people with disabilities. 

The Quinte Consolidated Courthouse will be designed and built to meet the Canada Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver standards, incorporating environmentally sustainable construction practices and energy efficient design. Green features of the new courthouse include:

  • increased indoor air quality;
  • large amounts of glass to create natural lighting for a variety of work areas and a number of courtrooms;
  • aggressive energy use reductions; and 
  • a high quality indoor environment through building materials selection as well as through ongoing green housekeeping practices.

Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to delivering some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects, on time and on budget; managing one of the largest real estate portfolios in Canada and providing real estate services, such as asset management and property and land management; and providing the public sector and not-for­-profit organizations with long-term financing to renew public infrastructure.  

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca for more information. 

Quotes: 

Honourable Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Infrastructure 
“Today's announcement illustrates the government's commitment to building safe, strong communities and investing in this modern facility is part of that commitment.” 

Honourable Chris Bentley, Attorney General 
“This new state-of-the-art facility will significantly improve the delivery of justice services in the Belleville area for years to come. By housing all court services under one roof and increasing the number of available courtrooms, we are improving access to justice for Ontarians.”  

Leona Dombrowsky, MPP for Prince Edward-Hastings 
“The new Quinte Consolidated Courthouse will not only improve access to justice services for the County of Hastings, but it will also be a green building, meeting rigorous requirements for energy management and conservation.”

Contacts: 

Lyndsie York 
Infrastructure Ontario 
416-326-9368 

Brendan Crawley 
Ministry of the Attorney General 
416-326-2210