Inside an appropriately frigid Kingsbridge Armory this morning, the city announced that the long-vacant, castle-like structure would be turned into the world’s largest ice sports complex, known as the Kingsbridge National Ice Center.

The center will house nine full-sized ice rinks, including one surrounded by a 5,000-seat arena that developers believe will attract major and minor league hockey teams as well college and youth teams. The center will also be home to a youth program that will provide free equipment and ice time for local residents based on a successful model developed in Philadelphia by Flyers owner Ed Snider. The project is expected to break ground next year and become partly operational by 2018. It is expected to be fully operational by 2019.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was joined by Kevin Parker, the founder of the ice center project, New York Rangers legend Mark Messier, gold medal-winning figure skater Sarah Hughes, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., Councilman Fernando Cabrera and Community Board 7 chairman Paul Foster, described the announcement as a triumph over adversity.

“We’re going to have an announcement that a lot of people said we would never have,” Bloomberg said at the beginning of the press conference.

He may have been speaking about himself. In late 2009, when the City Council, backed by Diaz and the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance, voted to kill a plan that would have turned the Armory into a giant shopping mall, Bloomberg was incredulous and said he didn’t see the building being developed in the “foreseeable future .”

But Bloomberg and Diaz both praised each other for putting the past behind and working to make the ice center a reality at the Amory.

“Through this redevelopment the Kingsbridge Armory will now have an interior program befitting its iconic exterior architecture,” Bloomberg said. “The construction of the world’s largest indoor ice rink facility will create recreational opportunities for millions of visitors and local residents, and most importantly create hundreds of jobs for the local community. This plan is proof that working together we can put aside our differences and do what’s best for the city.”

The ice center plan, which was backed by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and a handful of other local officials, was believed to be the city’s choice from the very beginning when the Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals back in January of 2012. KNIC’s interest in the Armory, and promise not to use taxpayer dollars, spurred the city to release the RFP in the first place. (The mall project was set to receive millions in tax subsidies before it died.)

But the ice center project was not endorsed by Councilman Cabrera who will play a major role in getting it passed in the City Council and was on record saying he wanted to see the developer sign a community benefits agreement.

Up until the end of last week, the EDC was saying it was still in negotiations with two developers looking to take over the Armory: KNIC and Young Woo & Associates, a Manhattan design firm that wanted to turn the Armory into a mixed-use futuristic market, with recreation, entertainment and business incubator space. Young Woo’s project would have also housed a National Hip Hop Museum that was supported by the Zulu Nation and several Bronx hip hop legends.

Last Friday, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance announced that it had signed a community benefits agreement with KNIC. Diaz and Parker, however, both said the benefits agreement had nothing to do with the agreement hashed out between the city and KNIC. Still, Cabrera was at press conference and on board with the project as KARA leaders sat in the front row of the press conference.

Diaz said the main difference between the mall project that he opposed in 2009 and the ice center that he now supports is that the ice center won’t directly compete with other Bronx malls, like the one being built in Co-op City, or Fordham Road’s extensive retail businesses.

Toward the end of the press conference, a supporter of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, which is the beating heart of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance, began a solo chant: “Say yes! Say yes! Say yes to the Northwest Bronx!”

Much more on this story in the coming days and next week’s print edition. We’ll try to get some photos up by the end of the day. Stay tuned.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.