Seven designs proposed for Jordan Valley ice rink

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Ice is a hot topic for the organizers of Jordan Valley Park.|ret||ret||tab|

The Jordan Valley Park Advisory Committee is considering seven different designs for an ice rink in the park.|ret||ret||tab|

The seven proposals, made by consultant Ankeny Kell Architects, vary the angle of the recreational ice rink to the street, and of the two ice rinks to each other, but all contain two sheets of ice, a public area, meeting room and locker or storage rooms. Ankeny Kell is based in St. Paul, Minn.|ret||ret||tab|

The design of the ice rink will be two-story, said park Project Manager Benjamin Alexander. The two-story design will take advantage of the slope of the land: the ice will sit on land that is near where the DaBryan Coach building formerly stood.|ret||ret||tab|

Demolition of buildings on property the city has purchased as part of the park's development began at the end of December. |ret||ret||tab|

The ice rink is also proposed to occupy part of land now owned by Thompson Pontiac GMC Cadillac on Trafficway. |ret||ret||tab|

Litigation to complete the condemnation of the Thompson land and determine a sale price the city and the property owners were more than $2 million apart was ongoing at the Business Journal's deadline.|ret||ret||tab|

The city has offered just more than $3 million for the property.|ret||ret||tab|

The Greene County Circuit Court trial began Jan. 31. The trial's jury will resolve the city's dispute with Thompson over the price the city will pay to acquire its land for the park. The city's taking of the land under eminent domain law is a foregone conclusion: the trial merely determines the price to be paid.|ret||ret||tab|

Alexander said the legal dispute has also left uncertain when the dealership would vacate the property, originally planned for the first week in February.|ret||ret||tab|

"Right now, we're still comfortable on time. We should be able to have it ready for construction in the fall," Alexander said.|ret||ret||tab|

The ice rink is to be completed in fall of 2001, with construction to begin this fall, he added.|ret||ret||tab|

The park's advisory committee now has to determine which of the seven configurations is best, and then the architects for the ice rink will work with LMN, the park's master-plan designers, to work out specifics and draw up construction documents, Alexander said.|ret||ret||tab|

One issue to be considered is parking for the ice rink. Initially, there will be surface parking for the ice rink, Alexander said, but when the exposition center John Q. Hammons has proposed to build goes up, more parking, possibly a multideck structure, will be needed. The city still has to work out the details of Hammons' agreement.|ret||ret||tab|

"We still have no contract on that project," Alexander said.|ret||ret||tab|

Greenspace for the park's first phase will be developed simultaneously with the ice rink, Alexander said. The park's first phase breaks down into 11 acres of green space, 1.7 acres for the ice rink, 3.5 acres for an exposition center, 2 acres for parking, and 4 acres of right-of-way. In addition, another 12 acres is taken up by existing businesses such as the Shrine Mosque, Taylor's Drive-In, the American Legion building, Meek's, the STD Flea Market and the United Way building that are to remain part of the park, Alexander said. That adds up to just more than 34 acres, the park's first phase. The completed park is to be up to 250 acres.|ret||ret||tab|

Another portion of the park, now called phase 1A, could involve about 11 acres adjacent to the first phase where a quarry is now. The park may also extend several acres south of that phase 1A, which is called phase 1B. A proposed civic center and baseball stadium are the possible tenants for phase 1A-1B. |ret||ret||tab|

St. Louis-based developer Tony Sansone Jr. announced in late December plans for a civic center in Jordan Valley Park. The city is continuing to work with Sansone on possible sites for the center.|ret||ret||tab|

Mary Lilly Smith, economic development director for the city, said the city is now conducting financial feasibility studies that the Center City Development Corporation will evaluate to determine whether that entity will finance the project. The city is also getting feasibility statements on several sites. |ret||ret||tab|

Alexander said the phase 1A-1B area is one possibility for the civic center's location.|ret||ret||tab|

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