Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. on Thursday endorsed a proposal to build a hockey and figure-skating center at the site of the old
Diaz and other elected officials appeared with former New York Rangers star Mark Messier and Olympic gold-medal winning figure skater Sarah Hughes to announce their support for the Kingsbridge National Ice Center.
"With the development of perhaps the greatest ice sports center in the United States right here at the Kingsbridge Armory, the Bronx will stand at the forefront of athletics for the entire region," Diaz said in front of the vacant building.
The five-acre Kingsbridge building, in the Bronx neighborhood by that name and sitting about three miles north of Yankee Stadium, opened in 1918 to host the Eighth Regiment Armory. National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1982.
It has been mostly unoccupied since 1996, when the National Guard vacated the building in 1996. New York City then assumed the title from the state.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Two years ago, Diaz Jr. and other Bronx leaders led the charge to defeat a proposal by Related Cos. to build a mall at the site. They objected to a refusal by the developer to guarantee a so-called living wage of at least $10 per hour for workers with benefits or $11.50 per hour without, prompting the City Council to reject the proposal and then override the mayor veto.
Last year, a Capstone Program team at New York University crafted financial models for the redevelopment, including the skating complex. Also under consideration is a plan to build a mixed-use mall involving restaurants.
According to the NYU team, any scenario would involve a 30-year maturity tax-exempt bond with a 4.51% interest rate to cover capital costs.
The city will decide on the proposal by the end of the year.
"'We're in active negotiations with multiple respondents, and continue to make progress towards a selection that will achieve the vision for this important site by creating jobs and generating economic investment in the Bronx," New York City Economic Development Corp. press officer Kyle Sklerov said in a statement Thursday.
The ice center would feature nine regulation hockey rinks and a 5,000 seat main arena that could host non-skating events such as concerts and basketball. According to a statement from Diaz, developers have assured that all related jobs will pay the living wage, and that the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp. would handle the hiring.
Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's assign a AA to the city's general obligation bonds. Moody's Investors Service rates them Aa2.
