Shadyside residents have mixed feelings about the seasonal ice rink at Hunt Armory becoming a more permanent fixture in the neighborhood.
"I think it's a great place," said Brenda Flores, who lives on Emerson Street, the same street where the seasonal ice rink is located. "But we can't afford a whole lot of extra cars parked in that block — that could be a problem."
The rink will be home to "leading diversity and community programming and affordable public skating and hockey," said Craig Dunham, senior vice president of development for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins have operated the seasonal rink on a trial basis for the past three years. They hope to take that commitment to the next step by making the rink permanent.
However, at a community meeting on Wednesday evening, several residents expressed their frustration over limited parking space, which they say was a surprise.
"There was talk in the beginning that a lot of [the parking] would be taken care of by the fact that there would be parking underneath the building," Ms. Flores said. "Is that not happening?"
Mr. Dunham told the Post-Gazette that was part of a $32 million plan put together by the Mosites Company to build a full-sized rink, a smaller "studio" sheet of ice, retail and office space, and 115 parking spots. When it fizzled out because of funding shortfalls, the city approached the Penguins to try a seasonal rink as a pilot project there.
The Penguins have agreements during the seasonal ice skating season with the Calvary Episcopal Church at 315 Shady Ave. for 50 spaces, and the Eastside Bond Garage blocks away at 30 Annie Place for 120 spots with utilization of a shuttle service.
The Penguins’ proposal is to extend the arrangement with Calvary and utilize public parking at either Bakery Square or EastSide Bond for peak events with shuttle services. If the rink remains, Mr. Dunham said the uses and activities essentially will not change.
Cynthia Jampole, CEO of Trans Associates Engineering Consultants which was hired by the Penguins to assess the parking situation, said her company found around 750 nearby street parking spaces. She said the maximum attendance at the armory is up to 550 people.
"But when we compare that to all nearby parking needs, we need something more," she said.
Shadyside resident Rich DiClaudio said it's impossible for the Penguins to "police" where people park and that the team has a "horrible track record" for enforcing parking.
"There's not a lot of trust with the Penguins down here," he said.
Others said the ice rink has had a positive impact on underserved communities during the past three years.
Jaden Lindo, manager of community hockey programs for the Penguins, called the armory a "very special place" that hosted about 30,000 ice rink attendees throughout the last season, which lasted around four months. About 40% of attendees were minorities, he said.
"It's [for] everyone in the community of all ages, all races, all genders," he said. "Hockey has a predominantly white fan base, and we want to provide that opportunity for diverse ethnic groups to engage in the sport."
He said the armory also hosted free school and community programming attended by about 2,000 people. Among them were the Pittsburgh Warriors, an ice hockey team of disabled military veterans .
Sam Johnson, chairman of the Pittsburgh Warriors, said there are about 160 veterans in the program.
"The armory allows us to be the only place in the nation with an entire disabled veteran team — that's amazing," he said. "We are so grateful."
Team officials first became involved in building a rink at the Hunt Armory in 2021, spending more than $1 million on its installation. It was a cornerstone of their efforts to bring hockey into the inner city.
Residents will have a chance to voice any concerns they have about parking during a June 6 Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing on the variance and special exception the Penguins are seeking to do interior renovations for the rink and the off-site parking the team is utilizing.
The special exception is needed because the parking spaces being provided at the EastSide Bond Garage are more than 1,000 feet from the armory's primary entrance.
At the same time, the Penguins have been in talks with the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority about purchasing the armory.
Under an option agreement signed last year, they had until this month to finalize a deal for $2 million. The URA paid the state $1 million to acquire the armory in 2019.
First Published: May 23, 2024, 6:11 p.m.
Updated: May 24, 2024, 1:28 p.m.