The developers behind the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) have been approved for a multi-million dollar loan by the state to begin construction on its $348 million project. But developers still can’t claim the lease since the city hasn’t released it to them, the Norwood News has learned.

Developers for KNIC Partners LLC project have spent the better part of 2015 scouting for philanthropists and private donors to help fund the massive project, purported to become the world’s largest ice skating center.

Last week, the Board of Directors for the Empire State Development (ESD), an economic development agency that seeks to boost economic growth in New York State, met to approve a $30 million capital construction loan to KNIC.

“This $30 million loan is the first tranche of up to $138 million in ESD construction loan financing for the project,” said Joe Tazewell, New York City Regional Director for ESD, during the meeting. “The $108 million balance of the loan financing will be brought to the directors for consideration at a later date.”

The funds total at least one year’s worth of construction. Under the deal, the state would provide incremental funds to KNIC so that developers would owe less interest in the long run. KNIC agreed to pay back the funds through an EB5 program, which uses money from wealthy foreign investors in exchange for visas.

While the state and developers have agreed to the terms, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), considered the economic arm to the city, has kept the 99-year lease in escrow.

“We remain excited about the plan to reactivate the Kingsbridge Armory, and once all conditions are met we will release the lease from escrow,” said Ian Friedman, a spokesman for the NYCEDC.

The lease has remained in escrow for more than a year while developers sought monies to jumpstart the project. It received $30 million in other funds from various philanthropic groups. Among them are funds from the Kresge Foundation, where monies from that organization were used as seed payment to the ESD loan. The KNIC project, headed by former Wall Streeter Kevin Parker, will house nine ice rinks, in-house parking, and 50,000-square-feet of community space. Roughly 400 new jobs and 1300 construction jobs will be created, with 51 percent of those jobs secured for Bronx residents.

But while the lease remained in escrow, KNIC has done what it could to get the project off the ground. It hired the Gilbane Building Company, a multi-national construction firm that built the Prudential Center, home to the New Jersey Devils, an NHL ice skating team.

A representative from KNIC could not be reached.

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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.