Reader Orville is a constant source of great local insight (see comments to Back!). One of his helpful comments was that the Chelsea Piers project is moving right along. As you very well may know, the 33-acre Clairol plant (1 Blachley Road) is being transformed into a crazy mega sports-centric entertainment extravaganza in a $45 million renovation. The Stamford Advocate echos Orville's sentiments and author Elizabeth Kim notes that the plans include:
- Featured sports like "skating, swimming, gymnastics, tennis, squash, and two ice rinks, one built approximately to National Hockey League standards, and another roughly Olympic-sized. Multi-purpose fields will accommodate soccer, baseball, and lacrosse players." Wow!
- There will be 20 to 24 foot tall ceilings with snazzy glass interior.
- Hours of operation will be 5:30am to midnight.
- There will be a whopping 894 parking spaces.
- An estimate 250 new jobs paying a sum total of $6 to 7 million.
In addition to extreme sportiness, the facility will also feature the Connecticut Film Center, which will take up 81,000 square feet and include two production studios.
The Zoning Board approved the plans at the end of last month, and Elizabeth Kim reports that work will begin in the spring and last somewhere between 12 and 14 months.
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WASTING OTHER PEOPLES' MONEY
1 day ago
3 comments:
The one thing I don't understand is why the ice rinks will be "approximately" NHL and Olympic size. What the heck does that mean? They'll be a foot or two shy of regulation size? Why not just make them exactly the right sizes?
Perhaps they didn't have the specifications in hand when the press release went out, and didn't want to commit to exact specs for the pool and ice rink. In any case, and more importantly, this new complex is going to mean jobs for Stamford, in addition to a great new recreational destination. Seems like a win-win to me.
Shame they couldn't have built it in the hole of the ground seems about the right size.
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