Chelsea Piers breaks ground on new Stamford mega-facility

Chelsea Piers has kicked off construction on a new 400,000-square-foot facility in Stamford, Conn. after more than a decade of searching for expansion sites outside New York City.

According to the New York Times, the facility will be the anchor tenant of a 33-acre office and manufacturing complex that served as the world headquarters for cosmetics company Clairol for upwards of 40 years. Clairol was purchased by Proctor & Gamble in 2001, and last year, the company moved out of Stamford for good, selling the property to a partnership of Connecticut developers for $17.5 million.

Chelsea Piers will spend $45 million to build out its space there, including two National Hockey League-sized ice skating rinks, a square center, Olympic-sized pool, recreational water park, day care center and gymnastics center.

A 160,000-square-foot second story will also be added atop the existing one-story warehouse, where Chelsea Piers will house tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts and a 60,000-square-foot playing field.

The former Clairol site still has another 450,000 square feet worth of space to fill with tenants, but the owners are hoping that Chelsea Piers’ presence will attract sports medicine physicians, physical therapists and a health club, ultimately creating a massive indoor sports mall. [NYT]