ST. LOUIS — Topgolf is coming to Midtown St. Louis!
The developer said even though the venue will bring more than 400 jobs and is a big part of revitalizing the area, not everyone is happy about it.
"It’s not much right now...but in about a year...the empty lot at the corner of Compton and Chouteau Ave will be turned into Topgolf," the developer said.
Construction has already started.
“It's a 15-acre site...three-story building...you will go ahead and enter onto the first floor and then be able to play on the three floors, and then hit right onto the Arch into downtown,” Brooks Goedeker, St. Louis Midtown Redevelopment executive director, said.
Mike Bauer worked in the area and said he is thrilled to see Topgolf coming to Midtown.
“I've been to top golf in Chesterfield and it’s a great experience not just for the golf but the food, the drinks, the socializing aspect there," Bauer said. "So, to add a place like Topgolf to Midtown an area that really needs this kind of redevelopment...I think it’s a great thing for the neighborhood."
"I think it’s going to be a great place for students and young professionals together, Bauer said. "I think you could bring a lot to this area."
Goedeker said the entertainment attraction will bring this corner to life.
“This is going to be 425 jobs that are created...thousands of people are going to be coming here on a weekly basis and it will be open from morning to night, seven days a week...365 days a year,” Goedeker said.
But that’s exactly what some neighbors and others who work in the area are concerned about.
The traffic could be too much.
"Given the lack of traffic enforcement currently, and the increase in traffic that Target and Topgolf will bring, plus the added traffic when the Armory opens...I can't even begin to imagine how dangerous it will be in this area," Meredith Bousman said.
“Being a lifelong city resident...we need more things for us to do, but I fear it could be unsafe and not to mention the residents...my neighbors being forced out due to the 'revitalization' that they are focused on...it’s not fair for them,” Shai Kaye said.
5 On Your Side’s Laura Barczewski asked Goedeker about traffic concerns.
She asked whether this area able to handle kind of the traffic that comes with it?
He said they believe that this is a great location because thousands of people pass by it on a daily basis.
If everything goes according to schedule the developer said this time next year Topgolf will be open to the public.
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