Mill developer submits plans for ice rink

BREWER ? The site plan for a $3.5 million Olympic-size ice rink for The Mill at Penobscot Landing project at the defunct Eastern Fine Paper Co. mill has been submitted and will be reviewed by the Planning Board in June.

“That would allow it to go forward with construction in July,” Drew Sachs, Brewer economic development director, said Wednesday.

Minnesota-based developer Michael Stern on Tuesday submitted his site plans to the planning board for the 250-feet by 180-feet ice rink, with seating for 675 people,. The panel will review the plans, created by Civil Engineering Services Inc. of Brewer, at their June 6 meeting.

“He’s proposing that it will have, beside seating, a warm room, concessions, a sports shop and multiple locker rooms,” Sachs said.

The rink will be located to the right of the former South Main Street mill entrance, according to the preliminary plans, and parking will be provided at the former employee parking lot.

The city took over the former mill last year as part of the sales agreement of Eastern Fine’s parent company and formed South Brewer Redevelopment LLC to manage the 41 acre site. Stern has been working with SBR and the city to create a multi-use destination point at the South Main Street location that includes a performing arts stage, upscale retail and restaurant space, an open market, housing, a marina, a movie theater, and the ice rink. Phase one of the entire project is expected cost $18 million.

The ice rink is a priority for Stern, who is using his own money to fund it, because of local need, he said Tuesday night during a phone interview from Minnesota. The developer said he hopes the facility will be open for use in November.

The rough architectural draft was completed Wednesday.

Adding an Olympic-size ice rink to the area should be a significant draw to skaters from around the area, Sachs said.

“Anyone can use an Olympic-size sheet,” he said. “This [will be] the only Olympic-size rink north of [the University of Southern Maine’s ice rink in Portland]. That’s part of the draw for this.

“It’s a great thing for figure skating, tournaments and for international play,” he added.

The University of Maine in Orono plays against several colleges that use Olympic-size ice rinks, including the University of Minnesota, but the UM team has no local place on which to practice, Sachs said. Olympic rinks are 15 feet wider than regulation ice rinks, including UM’s Alfond Arena.

Preliminary plans for the sports complex includes just one sheet of ice, but the plans are designed for expansion, Sachs said. A second, regulation-size ice rink is being considered, he said.

“In the next year or two, the plan is to put the second one in,” the economic development director said.