There was only one item on the agenda at last Thursday night’s meeting of the Community Board 7 Land Use Committee: the proposal to transform the Kingsbridge Armory into a state-of-the-art complex for ice sports. A group of private investors known as the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) presented their vision for the Armory, which would include a school and youth programs, to the committee and a handful of community members.

“The idea isn’t to create just another rec center in just another armory, but to create an iconic arena in an iconic building,” said Jonathan Richter of the Kingridge National Ice Center (KNIC). “The hope is that it becomes a best-in-class facility and a destination on par with the [New York] Botanical Gardens.”

As the Norwood News reported last week, the facility would include a 5,000-seat arena and seven or eight additional skating rinks. The group plans to fund the project with private investments rather than city subsidies.

KNIC representatives were tight-lipped on many of the specifics of the plan, not wanting to reveal too much information before the city’s March 22 deadline for proposals. They did, however, provide an overview of how the ice complex could address community needs, specifically in the realms of education and youth development.

The KNIC group plans to build a K-12 school on the armory grounds. The school would be focused around ice sports and would provide seats for 750 children. Students would participate in activities like hockey and figure skating and also learn about careers in the sports and health field. In an area of the city where school crowding is an issue, this could be a major benefit for the community and give a boost to the group’s proposal in the eyes of the board.

KNIC would also create an after-school tutoring and ice sports program open to any Bronx resident. Their idea is based on a successful program that Philadelphia Flyer’s owner Ed Snider implemented in inner-city Philadelphia.

Board 7 Chairman Paul Foster said that more work needed to be done to determine if KNIC’s proposal is the best plan for the armory.

“It sounds promising,” Foster said. “We want to get something moving here, but we also want to make sure that our community is having our needs addressed.”

Several committee and community members expressed concerns over the proposal, specifically in terms of how the development would impact traffic and parking and the lack of dedicated space for other sports.

Gardenia Slade, a member of the Kingsbridge Neighborhood Improvement Association, said she is not sure that ice sports would attract local residents.

“Right now, I don’t see the interest,” Slade said. “Maybe once it’s built and people see it, they’ll be interested, but I’d like to see other options in there too: basketball, baseball, soccer.”

KNIC members plan to meet with Community Board 7 twice more before the March 22 deadline.