The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District hired Williams Architects of Itasca as the architecture firm that will design the new rink and equipment building at the H-F Ice Arena, 777 Kedzie Ave. in Flossmoor.
“The goal is to replace the mechanical system and get the ice arena up and running as quickly as possible,” said Parks Executive Director Debbie Kopas. “The investment is large, and the district will likely sell bonds to fund most or all of the project.”
The board held a special session on Tuesday, Feb. 1, and accepted the Williams Architects contract on a sliding scale—8.9% fee if the work will be greater than $4 million and 9.15% if the work comes in under $4 million.
In addition, the board will pay $74,750 for a specialty engineering firm to design the ice refrigeration system. That work will fall under the Williams Architects contract.
The park board last worked with Williams Architects when the firm designed The Clubhouse at Dolphin Lake at 183rd Street and Governors Highway in Homewood.
The park board shut down the ice arena in November after the current ice making system was found to be inoperable. Park commissioners were anticipating replacing the ice making system because it was outdated, but they had hoped for another year or two to plan the project.
As soon as staff recognized replacement was necessary, the commissioners began planning the repairs. In January, commissioners approved a pre-construction contract with W.B. Olson at $19,775 and a construction management fee of 4%. The park board also will cover the firm’s general conditions costs, such as the project superintendent’s salary, construction trailer, dumpsters, utilities, etc. Kopas said she hasn’t received a proposal from W.B. Olson, but it is her understanding that the general conditions costs could run between $15,000 and $30,000 monthly.
Decisions on other ice arena repairs, such as a new roof, will be considered once W.B. Olson presents the project’s costs, Kopas said.
The expectation is that the rink will reopen in fall for the start of the 2022 hockey season.