Cape Community Arena

The building plan

Four phases over four years, starting March 2027. Here is exactly what gets built, in what order, and why it is sequenced this way.

How the arena gets built

Cape Community Arena is being built in four phases, each running March to November so the work happens outside the skating season and Gull Crest stays open and usable throughout. The plan was designed with Waterhouse Design, around one guiding principle: each phase has to stand entirely on its own.

The rink you skate on today stays in service while this happens. Phase 1 is site work the whole town uses: a rebuilt parking lot, upgraded stormwater management, and a new storage building for the Town. The ice slab comes in Phase 2, the roof and solar array in Phase 3, and the walls and finishes in Phase 4.

Phase 1

Site work and foundations

Parking, stormwater, concrete, and the new storage building.

March to November 2027 Phase 2

Utilities and the ice slab

Water, sewer, power, and the concrete slab with coolant lines.

March to November 2028 Phase 3

Roof and solar

Steel frame, roofing, the solar array, and bathrooms.

March to November 2029 Phase 4

Enclosure and finishes

Framing, cladding, insulation, finishes, and final paving.

March to November 2030

Where the project stands today

In permitting, and moving. On August 18, 2026 the Planning Board deemed our site plan application complete, and public review continued through the fall. Construction is targeted to begin in March 2027. Phase 1 is funded, but it currently relies on a construction loan, and no construction phase will begin without its funding in hand.

March 2027 through November 2027

Phase 1: site work and foundations

The year the ground changes. Most of Phase 1 is infrastructure the whole of Gull Crest benefits from, whether or not you ever lace up a skate.

Aerial concept view of Gull Crest after Phase 1: the open-air rink in place, a rebuilt parking lot beside it, the new storage building, and the community gardens to the east.
Concept rendering of the site after Phase 1. Waterhouse Design. Design has not been finalized.

Site work

  • Erosion control
  • Pavement removal
  • Relocate storage building, temporarily
  • Site grading
  • Excavate and backfill for foundation wall

Stormwater management

  • Structures and piping
  • Three biofilter beds
  • Inlet and outlet aprons

Parking lot

  • Gravel subbase and base
  • Base course pavement
  • Slipform curbing
  • Light pole bases and conduit
  • Loam and seed affected areas

Structural concrete

  • Continuous footing
  • Spread footings
  • Frost wall
  • Foundation wall

Storage building

  • Construct new storage building
Estimated cost: $1,400,000
March 2028 through November 2028

Phase 2: utilities and the ice slab

The quietest year to look at and one of the most important. Almost all of Phase 2 goes in below grade, which is why the view barely changes.

Aerial concept view of Gull Crest after Phase 2, largely unchanged from Phase 1 because the utilities and the ice slab are below grade.
Concept rendering of the site after Phase 2. The utilities and slab are underground, so little changes above it. Waterhouse Design. Design has not been finalized.

Site utilities

  • Water line
  • Sanitary sewer line
  • Electric, telephone, and cable conduits

Ice rink slab

  • Concrete slab with embedded coolant lines
Estimated cost: to be finalized
March 2029 through November 2029

Phase 3: roof and solar

The year it starts to look like an arena. The steel goes up, the roof goes on, and the solar array that will run the building goes on top of it.

Aerial concept view after Phase 3: a steel frame and roof covered in solar panels stand over the rink, with the sides still open to the air.
Concept rendering of the site after Phase 3, roofed and solar clad with the sides still open. Waterhouse Design. Design has not been finalized.

Building construction

  • Steel frame erected
  • Roofing and cladding installed
  • Solar array installed
  • Conditioned space built for utilities and the Zamboni
  • Bathrooms
  • Utility connections

Site improvements

  • Retaining wall
  • Exterior lighting and signage
  • Drip edges
  • Plantings
  • Loam and seed affected areas
Estimated cost: to be finalized
March 2030 through November 2030

Phase 4: enclosure and finishes

The year it is finished. Walls, insulation, and interior finishes turn the covered rink into a year round community building.

Aerial concept view of the completed arena: the building fully enclosed with cladding and windows, solar panels across the roof, and a finished parking lot with landscaped islands.
Concept rendering of the completed arena after Phase 4. Waterhouse Design. Design has not been finalized.

Building construction

  • Framing
  • Cladding
  • Building services
  • Insulation
  • Finishes

Site improvements

  • Finish pavement
  • Loam and seed affected areas
Estimated cost: to be finalized

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Building as good neighbors

Gull Crest is shared ground, and the plan is built around that. The site plans protect the Gull Crest Community Gardens with thoughtfully managed stormwater, restrict parking lot salt use, and carefully relocate the town storage shed. The phases are sequenced so the fields, the trails, and the gardens stay open and usable throughout construction.

The full project is estimated at $5 million to $7 million. It is privately funded by our non-profit, and no construction phase begins without its funding in hand. You can see the full financial picture in the case for support.

Help us build it

Every dollar given now reduces the debt the arena takes on, and brings the next phase closer to fully funded.

Become a Founder How we got here