Topgolf venue proposed for New Orleans along Interstate 10
Topgolf, a driving range and entertainment venue operator, is targeting the former Times-Picayune building on Howard Avenue for a possible New Orleans location as part of a nationwide company expansion, according to a letter sent to neighboring property owners.
The Dallas-based company announced last year it was considering the New Orleans and Baton Rouge markets among other metro areas to develop new Topgolf locations. The company already has 31 sites worldwide, offering high-tech golf driving ranges along with food and drinks and live events.
If the New Orleans project receives all necessary city approvals – and if Topgolf ultimately settles on The Times-Picayune site – construction would begin in early 2018 and last about 10 months, according to the Feb. 21 letter.
Other Topgolf developments have cost tens of millions of dollars. A recently announced Topgolf in Huntsville, Alabama, was pegged at $20 million.
Topgolf’s proposed business hours are 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. “The proposed potential development could include the following uses: indoor amusement facility, outdoor amusement facility, standard restaurant and bar,” the letter says.
A group including Joe Jaeger of MCC Real Estate, Barry Kern of Mardi Gras World, real estate developer Arnold Kirschman and local businessman Michael White bought the 3800 Howard Ave. site last year for $3.5 million.
In early February, the City Council granted the owners a zoning change for the industrial site that allows entertainment, residential and other mixed-use projects.
The owners have begun notifying neighboring property owners as part of the city planning process. Renderings and a design for the project haven’t yet been filed with the city.
Developers have said the mostly industrial area around the former Times-Picayune building is evolving into the next lively, mixed-use corridor in the city. “A lot of people do see it as the next potential Warehouse District,” MCC Real Estate’s Peter Aamodt said last month.
The project would include about 4.5 acres of building and outfield, nearly 3 acres of parking and 1.7 acres of open space, the letter says.
A neighborhood meeting about the project is scheduled for March 9.http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2017/03/topgolf_driving_range_former_t.html