Glenview’s Larry Robbins Gets Legal OK to Build Ice Rink

GLENVIEW CAPITALLarry Robbins, the CEO of Glenview Capital, is moving forward with his dreams of building a hockey rink next to his New Jersey home, reports FINAlternatives. The fund manager has been trying to build his dream 120 x 85′ ice rink on 3 acres in Cresskill for over 4 years by had been met with a lawsuit filed against the project by 2 neighbors. Early last month in state court judge jumped the lawsuit, allowing the project to proceed.

“Robbins’ ice rink will be smaller than the National Hockey League rink, which is 200 feet long. But it will feature locker rooms and spectator seating–and cost about $10 million.” The rank, which is designed to look like a house with a stone façade from the outside, was approved by Cresskill officials in 2009. Robbins had included a one-bedroom apartment in the basement in order to skirt zoning laws which prevented nonresidential construction in the area. Unfortunately, Robbins compromise was not enough to satisfy neighbors Mary O’Gorman and Elaine Sokolin, who sued the fund manager in 2010 to prevent the building of the rink. When the judge dismissed the case last month, he dismissed it with prejudice, meaning that the legal battle is officially over.

However, the issues with Robbins’ rink compelled officials in Cresskill to change its zoning ordinance. It now requires the new construction have at least 50% living space. “We want to keep the character of the area residential,” said Mayor Ben Romero.