DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — The Libra Foundation has updated its plans to build a new state-of-the art ice arena near Foxcroft Academy.
The nonprofit organization, as part of its broader efforts to rekindle new activity and investment in Piscataquis County, announced last summer plans to build an ice arena, as well as to renovate a former auto dealership on the same West Main Street property near the school as an indoor recreation facility.
But after further inspection of the former Brothers Chevrolet building, it was torn down.
“The old building was not really ideal for an indoor arena, it was a little small and outdated,” said Anthony DeRice of DeRice Consulting, LLC in Falmouth, construction manager for the project.
Plans call for an arena that will include an 80-by-200-foot ice rink, four locker rooms, a pro shop, administrative space, approximately 250 second-story spectator seats and a concession area. New parking areas and bus accessibility will also be constructed.
Ice will be in the rink from September through March with the building floor available during the late spring and summer as a convention center for trade shows, concerts and other indoor activities.
The construction project is expected to continue for the next 18 months with total costs estimated at $5 million, according to Libra president and chief operating officer Jere Michelson, who heads the foundation’s arena planning efforts.
The project will be funded privately by the Libra Foundation with the expectation that facility operating costs will be offset by rental revenue and ongoing support for some period of time.
When the project is completed, the Libra Foundation’s title-holding company, August Corporation, will own the ice arena and Foxcroft Academy will manage the property and its public use for the greater Piscataquis County and central Maine regions.
“While Foxcroft Academy will manage all day-to-day operations of the arena, this is truly a community arena,” Foxcroft Academy head of school Arnold Shorey said in a news release. “We plan to meet with local citizens, brainstorm with others and develop programs and schedules that will work for the many who want to use this extraordinary new facility.”
In addition to youth hockey, Michelson sees great opportunities for public skating, adult hockey leagues, youth state tournaments and potentially even new pursuits such as curling.
Over time, the return of high school hockey to the area also is possible as either a stand-alone Foxcroft Academy team or as a cooperative team with other area schools.
“The academy has a 195-year track record of strong management and it has been organizing youth sports for years. So it will be interesting to see it grow,” Michelson said.
Beginning in late 2016, Libra began targeting strategic projects in Piscataquis County designed to promote growth in the areas of arts, agriculture and public recreation. Primary activities to date have centered on reconstruction of several properties in downtown Monson for use
as an artist-in-residency program.
“The entire Piscataquis County region is a gem for the people of our state,” Craig Denekas, CEO of the Libra Foundation, said in the release. “Towns such as Dover-Foxcroft have always led Maine in past decades due to their extraordinary natural resources and quality of life. With some renewed energy and investments, those same attributes can continue to attract families in new ways.”
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