SIMSBURY, CT — The international skating center that put Simsbury on the map in the mid-1990s when it hosted Ukrainian figure skating icon Oksana Baiul is growing.
The Simsbury Zoning Commission last month unanimously approved a 25,175-square-foot expansion of the International Skating Center of Connecticut, which is located at 1375 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury.
Specifically, the zoning board June 17 approved a “site plan amendment” for the expansion, which would create two additional, half-size rinks to join the two full-size rinks that serve both figure skaters and ice hockey players statewide.
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It currently comprises 78,000 square feet and features 420 total parking spaces, with no additional parking added to the project.
The ISCC was officially approved in 1994 and it immediately served as a training facility for Baiul.
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Baiul won the 1994 gold medal in women’s figure skating for Ukraine at a time when the whole Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding saga dominated the news back then.
The 17 plus acres of land where the center operates is owned by the Town of Simsbury, while the facility itself is owned by BMW Sports LLC, which is the listed applicant for the project.
The rinks will be on the west side of the building and allow for more users to have increased ice time for various skating programs.
It is home to Simsbury High School’s ice hockey program, as well as several figure skating programs and other youth hockey leagues.
The ISCC also hosts public skating events as well.
Zoning board members heard in-depth presentations about the addition, with issues such as drainage, landscaping, parking, etc. all addressed and included in the plans.
With no discussion, the commission unanimously approved a resolution that had already been drafted by legal counsel.
With only minor tweaks, the proposal submitted for legal review was approved.
“The application is approved as submitted with the changes and conditions,” said Simsbury Zoning Commission Chairman Bruce Elliot. “Congratulations, we look forward to seeing some building down there.”
Work on the addition is expected to start sometime this year.
For the minutes of the June 17 Simsbury Zoning Commission, click on this link.
For all documents from the 1375 Hopmeadow St. application for the International Skating Center of Connecticut, click on this link.
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