Topgolf shares plans for Burlingame

With hopes to break ground next year and an eye set on opening in the summer of 2021, representatives from the company specializing in melding recreation and nightlife expressed their anticipation to join Burlingame.

“We’re excited to be a part of your community,” said Tanner Micheli, the company’s director of real estate development.

Topgolf is a chain entertainment company with centers across the nation specializing in golf-style chipping games amidst a sports bar setting. The company offered to pay the city $1.5 million annually to use the site, plus finance building a $15 million state-of-the-art center.

Schematic drawings showed the 71,000-square-foot facility which will house three stories of hitting bays from which players can drive golf balls at targets occupying the range below.

The facility proposed to replace the city’s golf center at 250 Anza Blvd. will offer 102 hitting bays which can accommodate as many as six players simultaneously. Maximum planned occupancy will be 1,300 people, including 125 employees on the property spanning about 13 acres. Ultimately, it is expected nearly 500 people, including part-time employees, will work at the center.

There are 475 parking spaces planned and the location is expected to operate from 9 a.m. until about midnight during the week, and 2 a.m. on the weekends.

Beyond the opportunity to play golf, the center will offer food and drink at its restaurants and bars, as well as a banquet room which can be rented to host corporate events.

Micheli said it is not uncommon for large companies to rent the entire facility, and expects it to become an attraction for guests and corporations spanning the northern and eastern segments of the Bay Area. Topgolf is opening another center in San Jose later this year, which will likely consume much of the Silicon Valley market.

Yet despite the local competition, Micheli was certain Topgolf will be a hit locally and across the region.

“It will be a very big draw,” he said.

The expected popularity served as a source of concern for some neighbors who raised reservations that traffic from guests visiting the center will further jam up nearby streets, especially at the highway interchanges. Those fears were compounded by the Oculus building under construction nearby, which is expected to host thousands of Facebook employees.

Micheli though attempted to quell such concerns, noting that traffic patterns for Topgolf visitors are often different than common commute hours for most local workers or residents.

Residents also held concerns about the development process — specifically around the potential for noise pollution during construction caused by pile driving. A representative from the firm designing the facility though said it appears pile driving may not be necessary and that drilling may be the preferred means of construction.

Not all the feedback was from concerned parties, as representatives of the nearby hotel industry expressed their support for the facility, claiming it would be a welcome addition to an area largely deprived of recreational opportunities for travelers.

To further ingratiate the company to the community, Micheli said Topgolf looks forward to partnering with local companies and schools on corporate and athletic events. To that end, high school sports teams are invited to practice for free at the facility in the afternoon.

With a continuing desire to serve the interests and needs of the Burlingame community, Micheli said its charitable focus will ramp up once a tighter bond is established with its new home.

“We just want to understand what the needs are,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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