It was Nov. 2, 2015, when Shadyside residents first heard a plan to build an ice rink in the Hunt Armory.
At the time, it was one of three proposals for the building:
- Housing, which would have meant cutting off part of the roof of the historic building to create an open and enclosed yard for the units.
- A coworking space that would have included amenities such as a rock climbing wall.
- The ice rink, which was supposed to add a second story inside the cavernous armory so that cars would park downstairs and the ice would be on the upper level.
The neighborhood overwhelmingly favored the ice rink. But now that they have an ice rink, run by the Pittsburgh Penguins, without parking, most neighbors have come out opposed to the team installing a permanent ice rink because there is tight parking in the area.
In 2015, developer William P. Kratsa Jr. of Harmar-based Kratsa Properties agreed it would be a great idea to suspend a walking track from the ceiling so that neighbors could walk inside and watch the skaters. But the cost of the plan to build a new level inside the building for a hockey rink and a practice rink with room for parking below was more than the company would earn back from renting out the ice.
After the Kratsa plan fell through, the building sat empty as other developers tried to work out the financing to install skating in the building. It took so long that the Urban Redevelopment Authority, which owns the building, wound up paying for the roof repair instead of waiting for a developer to buy the building and repair the roof.
In December 2021, a rink finally opened inside the building.
It was a temporary structure set up on the concrete floor with no parking underneath. The rink has been run by the Pittsburgh Penguins and paid for by the Penguins Foundation with sponsorship from Allegheny Health Network.
Now the team wants to spend $2 million to purchase the building, where it has run a three-year pilot program, installing a temporary rink each fall, and then taking it down in the spring. The team provides skate rental and skate sharpening. There is a pop-up tent with snacks, a sitting area and bleachers. The rink is a full-size hockey rink with boards, team areas and penalty boxes.
The Penguins have an agreement with Calvary Episcopal Church, a block away, to provide parking for up to 50 cars in the church lot. When Chatham University’s hockey team plays games there, the school runs shuttle buses.
Another 120 cars can park off-street at East Side Bond, which is more than a quarter of a mile away.
Residents noted that the hockey parents are choosing street parking over walking that far with hockey gear.
But parking is tight in Shadyside, and residents don’t want to have to park a block away from their homes.
Even the most ardent supporters of the rink, such as Virginia Flaherty who lives on Lehigh Avenue near the Armory, said the team needs to solve the parking problem.
“To say ‘We have 50 spaces and all the rest is going to have to be on-street’ is really crushing, and putting it on the backs of Shadyside residents,” she said at a May 22 community meeting in the Armory, where the team presented its case.
The Penguins have special programs for blind skaters and veterans, there are youth hockey leagues and lessons to teach the sport to low-income children. The team does not operate the rink when school is in session or on Sunday mornings when the churches nearby have services.
Some residents who attended spoke out about parking, but users of the rink were supportive of the plan, including James Coogan, 7, who said he wanted to thank the Penguins for teaching him to play hockey. His father, David Coogan of Squirrel Hill, said the rink is a great asset for the city.
Cynthia A. Jampole, the principal of Trans Associates, a transportation design firm, told the Shadyside residents in May, and then the Zoning Board of Adjustment on June 6, that the number of street parking spaces can support the hockey rink.
The issues before the Zoning Board of Adjustment are whether the skating rink, which is considered an entertainment use, can be located in a residential neighborhood, and whether the 120 parking spaces off-site can count as its parking.
The issue is as hot now as it was nearly nine years ago when the Urban Redevelopment Authority presented the first proposals for the building to the neighborhood.
Before the hearing, the zoning board received 40 letters about the variance requests: 19 of the letter writers said the parking had to be addressed; all of them came from Shadyside residents, though some said they were torn because they still want the skating rink in the neighborhood. Another 20 were in favor of the facility with some writers opposing dedicating more land to parking. Most of the letters in favor of using the facility for skating were from people who do not live in Shadyside.
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