Belmont ice rink sold, still no plans

After months of little confirmation with who the former owner was under contract to sell the property and exactly what the new owners envisioned for the site at 815 Old County Road, a few details emerged after the sale was recorded last Friday.

According to records filed with the San Mateo County Assessor’s Office, the property was sold twice in one day. MMA Belmont LLC bought the site for slightly over $4.5 million, before turning around and apparently selling it to a group called Sapient Real Estate Investments for $5 million, according to public records filed June 17.

The prospect of losing another ice skating rink in the county — an ongoing battle remains over the shuttered facility at the Bridgepointe Shopping Center in San Mateo — prompted the community to rally and try to preserve the Belmont locale.

Sarah Feldman, a representative with the Silicon Valley Ice Skating Association, said she was disappointed by the news.

“It was frustrating and surprising to us,” Feldman said. “Our offer was greater than both of these.”

Officials with East Bay Iceland previously said the company was under contract to negotiate exclusively with an unnamed buyer and could not consider an offer made by the skaters.

The sale was first reported by the Silicon Valley Business Journal Monday, which noted the little-known buyers had deeper connections to other Bay Area businesses. MMA Belmont LLC, which was reportedly created less than a month ago, shares a Danville address with Branagh Development. The family-owned construction and development company builds single-family homes, subdivisions, luxury apartments and commercial properties, according to its website. A request for comment at Branagh was not immediately returned.

But it appears the ownership was short-lived and Sapient Real Estate Investments now controls the deed. According to the Business Journal, that company shares an Orinda home address with Emily and Malcolm Fairbairn. The wife is listed as an agent with Sapient and the husband is an executive with Ascend Capital in San Francisco. According to litigation filed against the couple by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before 2001, Malcolm Fairbairn founded the investment company and Emily Fairbairn was at one time employed as a trader.

A message left for Malcolm Fairbairn at Ascend Capital was not immediately returned.

The city of Belmont has yet to receive any type of proposal to redevelop the rink that officially closed its doors in April after nearly 50 years of service.

Community Development Director Carlos de Melo said he hadn’t heard of either company and the timing of when the new owners submit a proposal could affect what they’re allowed to build.

The city is in the midst of its Belmont Village Specific Plan, a zoning and planning document seeking to create a more centralized downtown. Currently, the rink property is broadly zoned for housing, commercial or uses such as the existing ice rink, de Melo said.

While only a draft has been prepared for the new specific plan, as proposed, the property would fall under the “station core” area which would allow for small- to medium-scale retail, dining or a mixed-use housing development. Indoor or outdoor community gathering space is required and specialty shops as well as entertainment destinations are encouraged, according to the draft plan.

But de Melo emphasized the plan is in draft form, has not gone through the public hearing process and wasn’t likely to be approved until the first quarter of 2017.

“We haven’t been approached by the new property owner with anything related to the site,” de Melo said. “If they were to take a ‘wait and see’ approach with the Belmont Village Specific Plan, they could potentially be operating under different circumstances.”

He couldn’t comment on whether it was unusual for a buyer not to contact the city before a purchase, only noted “some folks do their due diligence, some folks don’t.”

But de Melo said the property has been a sensitive topic.

Feldman and others have frequently spoke during recent City Council meetings and officials formed a council subcommittee before reporting there was little they could do as it is truly private property.

But those who once used either the Belmont or San Mateo ice rinks have shown there’s a strong desire in the community to maintain this unique form of recreation.

Feldman, who worked with a nonprofit to build a rink in southern California, said although the prospect of looking to create a new rink isn’t out of the question, she emphasized they would remain focused on exhausting all options for the Belmont property.

“I think the lack of clarity on the site in the future is concerning. If anything we’re going to work harder,” Feldman said. “This one is already fully operational. … At this time, our focus in on the Belmont property.”

Feldman noted a “Unite to Keep Ice on the Peninsula” event will be held at the Ice Oasis in Redwood City this weekend and the association is running a T-shirt fundraiser. Visit meetup.com/Unite-To-Keep-Ice-On-The-Peninsula/events and booster.com/svisa for more information.

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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