Pittsfield ConCom OKs Wahconah Park Demo, Ice Rink

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Conservation Commission has OKed the demolition of Wahconah Park and and the installation of a temporary ice rink on the property. 

The property at 105 Wahconah St. has drawn attention for several years after the grandstand was deemed unsafe in 2022. Planners have determined that starting from square one is the best option, and the park's front lawn is seen as a great place to site the new pop-up ice skating rink while baseball is paused. 

"From a higher level, the project's really two phases, and our goal is that phase one is this demolition phase, and we have a few goals that we want to meet as part of this step, and then the second step is to rehabilitate the park and to build new a new grandstand," James Scalise of SK Design explained on behalf of the city. 

"But we'd like these two phases to happen in series one immediately after the other." 

On Thursday, the ConCom issued orders of conditions for both city projects. 

Mayor Peter Marchetti received a final report from the Wahconah Park Restoration Committee last year recommending a $28.4 million rebuild of the grandstand and parking lot. In July, the Parks Commission voted to demolish the historic, crumbling grandstand and have the project team consider how to retain the electrical elements so that baseball can continue to be played. 

Last year, there was $18 million committed between grant funding and capital borrowing. 

This application approved only the demolition of the more than 100-year-old structure. Scalise explained that it establishes the reuse of the approved flood storage and storage created by the demolition, corrects the elevation benchmark, and corrects the wetland boundary. 

"I think there's no question that Wahconah Park is a park of tremendous community interest," Commissioner Jonathan Lothrop said. 

The temporary 50-by-100-foot ice rink was approved with the conditions that all sand used for leveling be removed by April 30, that the area be reseeded and returned to its original condition, and that the city's conservation agent will monitor construction. 

It was originally proposed for Clapp Park, but when the project was put out to bid, the system came back $75,000 higher than the cost estimate, and the cost estimates for temporary utilities were out of budget. 

In September, the City Council accepted a total of $200,000 from five local organizations for the project, and the city has already been working on power supply needs for Wahconah Park, which are far less expensive. 

Director of Community Development Justine Dodds displayed a rendering of the portable rink, explaining that it has a tarp with refrigerated lines, a 4-foot high kick boards, and three 10-ton chillier units on the north side of the rink enclosed in chain fencing, as well as an electrical panel board nearby. 

"We are purchasing the rink. It's going to be temporarily used, so the idea is that it is put out in the winter for use for residents, and that then in early spring, March, April, time it would be rolled up, the sand would be removed, and then it's stored off-site for possible relocation again in future uses," she said. 

The site, which includes conservation land, will be leveled with a timber crib system and 126 cubic yards of sand. The project totals 4,142 cubic feet of displacement, and the grandstand demolition will create more than 12,000 cubic feet of additional storage at the rink's elevation. 

The Parks Commission has also endorsed Wahconah Park for the location.

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