Penguins/UPMC Sports Complex Moving Down the Road in Cranberry

The planned $70 million UPMC-Pittsburgh Penguins sports medicine facility and ice rink is still in the pipeline for Cranberry—just not in the same location. 

The hockey team and the hospital have discarded plans for the complex at the Village of Cranberry Woods on Route 228 in favor of a location just down the road at the intersection of Route 228 and Interstate 79. 

Developer Gary Sippel owns the property, which once was slated for a Simon Mall.

Plans for the complex had appeared to be moving forward for the location at the Village of Cranberry Woods, which is owned by Don Rodgers of FRA Development.

On July 1, the developers appeared before the Cranberry’s planning commission to detail plans for the project, which also included hotels, residential and retail space.

Travis Williams, chief operating officer for the Penguins, said while the team and UPMC were committed to building in Cranberry, they continued to look at others locations in the area, including the Sippel property, even as plans for the complex progressed. Both Sippel and Rodgers were aware of the situation, he said. 

Accessibility and Visibility Key Factors in Switch

Williams said the decision to move forward with the project on the Sippel property was based on the location’s visibility and accessibility to I-79 and Route 228. Late last week, the Pens and UPMC signed a letter of intent with Sippel for the site, he said.

“For us, it was visibility and accessibility of the site,” he said. “Those were really the two main drivers.”

Williams said plans for the 190,000 square foot brick and glass structure remain unchanged. The team and the hospital also have since settled on a name for the complex— The UPMC Lemieux Sport Complex.

“I think he deserves it,” Williams said of associating the facility’s name with hockey great, and Penguins owner, Mario Lemieux.

UPMC will build and own the facility, which will be similar in nature to the UPMC sports performance complex on Pittsburgh's South Side that's used by the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh and also includes sports medicine, practice and training facilities.

The Penguins will lease the ice rink and other facilities from the hospital.

“The nice thing was the design of the building would work in both sites,” Williams said. “We’ve actually progressed to the physical design of the building, almost to the conceptual design phase.”

The switch to the new location should not have a great effect on the project’s timeline for construction and completion, Williams said.

Williams said Sippel hopes to obtain a grading permit from the township in August and to start moving earth on the property in September. Construction on the building could begin by March 2014, he said.

The UPMC Lemieux Sport Complex is expected to open in the summer of 2015, said Albert Wright, VP of Operations, Presbyterian Shadyside, who is also charged with overseeing sports medicine.

Cranberry, Rodgers, React

Ron Henshaw, Cranberry director of community development, said the township was notified Friday that Rodgers and FRA Development were withdrawing its two land development applications for the project. 

While Henshaw said the township is pleased the complex will remain in Cranberry, there was some disappointment on behalf of the staff and planning commission members who worked for months to perfect the plans for the development at the Village of Cranberry Woods.

“We’re happy they’re staying in Cranberry,” he said. “We have worked hard to get the site to a very nice development we were going to be proud of."

Henshaw said the township plans to meet Thursday with UPMC, the Penguins and Sippel to discuss the new location.

“Now we’ll start the process again just like we did in the past," he said.

As for Rodgers, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he was "very disappointed" over losing the complex and added it took too long for the development to go before the township planning commission for action.

The Village of Cranberry Woods also is located in one of the township's Community Character District, meaning that in exchange for a higher density of building, Rodgers was required to add additional parklets, landscaping and other green space to the development. 

Rodgers told the PG the requirements made the project too expensive. However, according to Henshaw, Rodgers chose the Community Character District zoning for the development. 

Henshaw noted the Sippel property is zoned commercially and does not include the CCD requirements.

"It’s a little less intense in requirements for parks and parklets and all those kinds of things," he said. "It will still be nice." 

Detailing the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex

The UPMC Lemieux Sport Complex will include two rinks and be the primary training space for the Penguins, replacing the space the team currently leases at the Iceoplex at Southpointe in Washington County. 

The team also will use the rink for practice during the regular season when the ice isn’t available at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

One rink will have 500 seats. The other rink will have seating for 1,000. The Penguins are expected to open the rinks for spectators at selected public practices, according to Roger Altmeyer, director of community project development for UPMC.

The rinks also will be used for high school hockey tournaments, development camps for Penguins hockey prospects, skating classes, public skating sessions and other programs.