By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
PREVIOUS STORY (9/24/2024): A First Look at the Design for the New Ice Arena
PREVIOUS STORY (10/18/2024): City of Northfield & Dundas Sign Funding Agreement For The New Ice Arena Project
PREVIOUS STORY (11/21/2024): Northfield Hockey Association Announces Fundraising Update
PREVIOUS STORY (12/2/2024): Hockey Association Shares Goals With Additional Fundraising For The New Ice Arena
Last week, the Northfield City Council heard an update on the Ice Arena project, which included information regarding the design and cost. The initial cost estimate for the project was $20.9 million; the revised update has $24.8 million, a gap of $3.9 million.
The architects and engineers of the ice arena began the value engineering process, which breaks down the cost of several items to see if any can be cut or reduced to bring down the overall project costs. At the council meeting, 16 options were presented as items that could be cut. So far, seven items have been cut from the project, realizing about $900,000 in savings. These items include reducing the number of windows, reducing the height of the locker room roof by 3 inches, and reducing the width of the rink box. Included in the design is an outdoor sheet of ice, which the arena would expand in the future.
The project management team, which includes representatives from Northfield, Dundas, the school district, and the hockey association, worked together to decide which items to cut from the project.
The architect overseeing this project estimates that he has completed 60 ice arena projects in his career. When asked by Councilor Peter Dahlen if he felt the cost estimates were accurate:
“Today is different; I mean, pre-pandemic, today’s dollars was a different market, but that’s where we’re seeing single ice sheets come in. That’s where they’re hitting. If you were to do 2 ice sheets, the cost per square foot technically drops, by about $50 a square foot. But for a single ice sheet, it’s what we’re seeing $500 per square foot. There’s some markets we’re working in its $1000 a square foot. So we see it all over, but that that’s right in there that’s that’s what you’re going to see.” – Tom Betty, Architect of the Project at the 2/18/2025 City Council Work Session Meeting
One question that Councilor Chad Beumer raised was about the LEED Certificate for the building. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification is a rating system that measures the suitability of building practices. The LEED Certification is required by city law to meet the sustainable building code. The architects noted that there can be substantial savings with a LEED Certification because of the high amount of energy ice arena’s use. Other sustainability practices include the materials used on the building, like paint and concrete, while also installing water-efficient appliances and devices that track energy use:
“We have some additional energy metering on it, making sure that you know we’re getting the solar that we say we’re going to get and we’re getting all those things implemented. Refrigeration. There’s some controls on that just to make sure we’re managing that efficiently and then some of it is down to the materials we’re using with the …. and then by going with solar, some of our equipment, we go to all electric on it. For heating and cooling the building, because we can take advantage of that solar component.” – Tom Betty, Architect of the Project at the 2/18/2025 City Council Work Session Meeting
Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig noted that a change in state law has allowed the city to approach this project differently than previous projects. Now the city is able to hire a project construction manager who will guarantee a maximum set price for the project. Here’s Martig on KYMN:
“You can get the construction manager involved earlier, more directly with the architect, and then they basically have been probing with contractors directly. They’re still competitive biding process internal on it. But ultimately, you, kind of get all these packages and then the construction manager enters into those agreements and then comes back with a guaranteed maximum price that even if you have change orders lady later, they stay with it they.” – Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig on the KYMN Morning Show
The maximum price for the project is expected to be set in April, and construction will then begin in the summer. The new ice arena is set to open in August of 2026.
The four partners in the Ice Arnea Project.
Tomorrow, we will look at the fundraising efforts of the Northfield Hockey Association and how that group interacts with the Ice Arena.
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