Cobalt, Milwaukee Power partnering on ice center
In a move intended to complement the revitalization of The Turf skatepark, Cobalt Partners is joining forces with a local hockey ownership group to build a regional, state-of-the-art community ice center in Greenfield.
Milwaukee-based Cobalt Partners Tuesday received unanimous approval from the Greenfield Common Council to rezone approximately 38 acres north and south of Interstate 894 east of Loomis Road to pave the way for a mixed-use redevelopment plan emphasizing recreational and entertainment uses, according to a news release from Cobalt.
As part of the development, Cobalt announced that it has reached an agreement with an affiliate of Local Hockey Partners LLC, the ownership group of the Milwaukee Power of the North American 3 Hockey League, to build the Greenfield Community Ice Center, a regional, state-of-the-art, multi-sheet facility.
“We are excited to again work in public/private partnership with the city of Greenfield to transform this highly visible and accessible but underutilized site into a vibrant and productive mix of uses consistent with the city’s longstanding vision for this area,” said Scott Yauck, president and chief executive officer of Cobalt Partners in the release.
Construction of the center is expected to cost approximately $25 million, Yauck said.
The Milwaukee Power is a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior organization playing NA3HL, according to the Power’s website. The team plays its home games at Ozaukee Ice Center in Mequon.
Local Hockey Partners LLC, the ownership group behind the Milwaukee Power, has partnered with Mia Rose Holdings LLC of Chesterfield, Missouri, on the Greenfield project, according to a statement.
St. Louis, Missouri-based ARCO Construction will be the general contractor. Construction on the center is scheduled to begin in summer 2021 and open in fall 2022.
“Our vision from day one was to create a state-of-the-art, multi-sheet, community ice center that would become the epicenter for the collective Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin ice community,” Chase Ernst, CEO of Local Hockey Partners and LHP-MRH JV, said in an interview.
“The Greenfield Community Ice Center brings that ‘local’ vision one step closer to reality,” he said. “Because of what this facility will attract and accommodate we will immediately make this facility a local, regional and national destination.”
Ernst stressed that as excited as they are about the news, the ice center is more than just for the hockey community.
“This is bringing all of hopefully, the youth hockey, high schools, collegiate, the figure skating, the synchro, the curling — all of those communities are people that we are currently engaging, anxiously awaiting for this thing to come on board so that it can truly be a place for all, not just the Power,” Ernst said.