Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Recreation Facility Permit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
West Allis council approves conditional use permit for Armory Hockey training center at Festival Foods site
Summary
The West Allis Common Council approved a conditional use permit for the Armory Hockey Development Center at 11111 W. Greenfield Ave., clearing the way for an indoor synthetic-ice training facility; the council voted 7-0 on the item.
The West Allis Common Council voted 7-0 to approve a conditional use permit for the Armory Hockey Development Center, a proposed hockey instruction and training facility at 11111 W. Greenfield Ave., on the south end of the Festival Foods tenant space.
The permit is required because the proposed training use would host 31 or more people at a time and the site is zoned C-3. City staff described the project as an interior tenant improvement with no changes to the building exterior and said the Plan Commission recommended approval. The applicant asked the council to act at the meeting to meet a financing timeline for bank approval.
Council members were given a summary of the planned operations: seasonal and off-season hours for classes and open-gym sessions, a synthetic skating surface rather than real ice, a reception lobby and retail pro shop, a full gym and strength-training area, a floor-hockey practice space with a rapid-shot measuring area, and other interior amenities. Staff said the parking lot immediately in front of the south tenant space includes about 124 parking stalls, including two ADA stalls; refuse would be located behind the building. The applicant told the council they expect to open in June.
Tony, the applicant and owner-operator, said some portions of the facility would operate as open gym time where members and nonmembers could pay a one-time fee to use the space, and other portions would be instructional or small-group sessions. "There will be portions of time where it's open gym, open facility, where members can come in and even non members can pay to use, for that one use," Tony said.
Alderman Halverson asked whether the Armory would operate like nearby private-club gyms with both classes and open-gym times; the applicant confirmed it would offer both models. No public objections were recorded at the hearing.
On a roll-call vote the council approved the conditional use permit by a 7-0 tally. The motion and seconder were not specified on the recorded transcript; the clerk recorded seven ayes and no opposed votes. With the council approval, the applicant may proceed with financing and tenant improvements subject to any remaining building permits and administrative requirements.
Details recorded at the hearing include the site's C-3 zoning, Plan Commission recommendation for approval, proposed hours (seasonal: September–May afternoons/evenings; Saturdays 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; summer hours noted), two to three full-time employees plus five to ten part-time staff, and the project's interior components and synthetic surface.
