Prior to the out of doors ice skating rink at Acacia Park grew to become a seasonal custom, downtown Colorado Springs experienced a everlasting, indoor ice skating rink that was open up for 10 many years. It was termed the Plaza Ice Chalet and was at 111 S. Tejon Road, inside the Plaza of the Rockies.
Crafted in 1984, the large 168,000- sq.-foot Plaza of the Rockies office environment and shopping intricate became a hub for a number of organizations and the rink was a popular destination for skating fanatics, university subject excursions and getaway celebrations. The ice rink had been part of the creating when it was constructed on a city-specified urban renewal site.
The Ice Chalet hosted an yearly Xmas display in conjunction with the Competition of Lights Parade. This celebration commonly available cost-free performances and skate times. In 1989, the Broadmoor Skating Club and Centennial Skating Club held exhibition skating performances with skaters from age 6 to age 17.
In 1990, the Ice Chalet’s Xmas demonstrate highlighted a regime from two-time U.S. national silver medalist and Colorado Springs resident Scott Cramer. Colorado Springs’ personal Jill Trenary, who was inducted into the United States Determine Skating Hall of Fame in 2002, was also recognized to skate there.
The venue was well known among the locals and the facility and was just one of only two sites obtainable for general public skating at the time. The other was the Sertich Ice Middle in Memorial Park The ice rink at the Chapel Hills Shopping mall didn’t open up until finally 1998 and shut in 2006. In spite of its reputation, the Ice Chalet wasn’t a income maker in accordance to Plaza of the Rockies homeowners.
The Bank of Nova Scotia, which experienced foreclosed on a $21 million bank loan on the sophisticated throughout the late 1980s, shut the rink on March 9, 1994, before providing it to area developer David Jenkins, chairman of Nor’wood Improvement, who procured the house for $6.3 million. At the time, Jenkins mentioned he desired to remove the initial-floor rink due to the fact it dropped funds and simply because he didn’t have liability insurance policy to deal with its procedure.
“It’s an financial drain, it normally has been,” Jenkins mentioned of the rink in a May perhaps 12, 1994, Gazette post.
The Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority, which supervised the initial growth of the Plaza of the Rockies, experienced to indication off on a change in the building’s use and agreed with Jenkins.
“It is unfortunate to get rid of ice area in Colorado Springs,” authority chairman Mike Baker stated in the exact report. “But, in my opinion, we simply cannot force a private owner to maintain aspect of his property for community use.”
Colorado Springs skating aficionados weren’t pleased with the selection. Additional than 30 mom and dad of young children who had been in skating lessons at the rink pleaded with the authority to retain it open.
A lawsuit submitted by Monthly bill Huddy, a PaineWebber broker and director of the Plaza Ice Chalet Figure Skating Club, resulted in the authority taking a next vote on the rink’s closure.
Huddy argued that the authority overstepped its bounds for the reason that taking away the rink was a considerable improve in a 22-12 months-outdated metropolis urban renewal prepare, a transform only the City Council ought to make.
The exertion was for naught, even so, as Huddy could not appear up with a $10,000 bond a judge wished as safety to reimburse Jenkins for damages he could endure must the get afterwards be overturned. On a next vote, the authority unanimously agreed to let Jenkins get rid of the rink.
A tiny above a yr later on, in August 1995, Jenkins done an $800,000 renovation of the Plaza of the Rockies. It included 42,000 square toes of business office room on two flooring, and provided a remodel of the lobby and expanded elevator support to the building’s parking garage.
Nowadays, Nor’wood Development owns, develops, and manages several homes across the city, not just the Plaza of the Rockies. This includes the Nor’wood, Wolf Ranch and Mesa Ridge communities. It also formulated the To start with & Primary City Centre in close proximity to Powers and Constitution, the Alamo Corporate Centre and 4 apartment communities.