Only 15 feet, two studies costing more than $50,000 total and the first major capital investment in the Robert Crown Center since its original construction stand between Sanders Hicks and an Olympic-size ice rink.
The Evanston City Council unanimously approved two consulting contracts Monday night, further advancing a long-term plan to rebuild the community building at the corner of Main Street and Dodge Avenue. The step forward also brings Hicks, who founded the Evanston Speed Skating Club in 1966, closer to a 200-feet-by-100-feet ice rink, as opposed to the current one, which is 185 feet long.
But first the consulting firms hired by the city must assess the economic and environmental viability of the tentative proposal, said Doug Gaynor, Evanston’s director of parks, recreation and community services. South Holland, Ill.-based Environmental Protection Industries has been tasked with a geotechnical study of the land, while Chicago-based HVS Convention, Sports & Entertainment Facilities Consulting will gauge market demand.
“Basically, we want to determine what’s below the surface and make sure the community is heard,” Gaynor said.
He estimated this mission will be complete by early summer, when EPI and HVS will present their findings to three contractors prequalified to design, build, finance and manage the property.
The main challenge of the undertaking will be rearranging the surrounding fields to accommodate the ice complex, shifting from the east end to the west end of the land, said Stephanie Levine, the project’s manager.
Beyond that, what the reconstruction project will exactly involve depends on the study results, she added. Both she and Gaynor did agree the final product will include two regulation ice sheets.
“We’re trying to validate if this is going to work financially,” Levine said. “This is information everybody needs to know.”
And “everybody” includes Hicks, who said the community center’s ice rinks, among other amenities, have not been up to par “for years.” The speed skating club has twice-a-week practices at the athletic facility throughout the winter months.
“It hasn’t been (a satisfying facility) for years,” he said. “There are a lot of things that can be improved, but they’re not going to spend extra money. If you’re going to spend a lot to repair a rink that small and want kids to compete on the national scene, you need an updated rink.”
Levine said she has not turned a deaf ear to these mounting complaints, and the City acted on them when it first started scouting potential contractors last summer. The City Council formalized the final three construction companies this January.
“There’s this general consensus from user groups in the building that it doesn’t adequately fit their needs,” she said.
The EPI and HVS contracts will cost Evanston $7,510 and $49,500, respectively, and those funds will be taken from the city’s capital improvement program account.
While the first contract was up for a Council vote, Ald. Jane Grover (7th) questioned at the meeting whether an environmental evaluation of the site could be handled within the city government. Gaynor ensured her an internal study was not possible and potential contractors are depending on EPI’s feedback.
Calls left with consultant representatives at EPI and HVS were redirected to Gaynor and Levine on Wednesday afternoon.
