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Old 12-15-2014, 07:53 PM
 
Location: Cary, NC
114 posts, read 326,446 times
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Sounds like TopGolf is very interested in putting a location in Cary. I think it would be a great addition to the area and provide some much needed entertainment to the area and hopefully reenergize the Cary Towne Center area.

CARY: TopGolf eyes Cary Towne Center | Cary | CaryNews.com
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Old 12-15-2014, 08:27 PM
 
Location: Raleigh NC
25,119 posts, read 16,118,757 times
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if they want to give it a try, I say go for it. I don't know how it's needed - unless Knight's Play and many other sports bars are at higher usage than I've seen, but that's the beauty of free enterprise.
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Old 12-15-2014, 08:33 PM
 
Location: NC
2,023 posts, read 3,229,389 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by techshuffle View Post
Sounds like TopGolf is very interested in putting a location in Cary. I think it would be a great addition to the area and provide some much needed entertainment to the area and hopefully reenergize the Cary Towne Center area.

CARY: TopGolf eyes Cary Towne Center | Cary | CaryNews.com
My husband would LOVE that!
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Old 12-15-2014, 08:37 PM
 
347 posts, read 518,801 times
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I was just about to update the Sears in Cary to close thread when I saw this post and figured I would post it here.

I live in close proximity to Cary Towne Center and was invited to an informational meeting regarding the re-zoning of the property to accommodate a Topgolf facility. The following are some notes I took during the course of the meeting. I tried my best to not emphasize my bias in these notes. I'll offer my opinion after.

Presenting: Jason Barron (Morningstar Law Group) and Zach Shor (Topgolf Director of Real Estate)

From Jason
• There has been no zoning submittal yet, though Jason has been in contact with Town of Cary (ToC) staff.
• Zoning will likely be filed by the end of December
• There will likely be a further meeting with neighbors in early February. Note that tonight's meeting was the only neighborhood meeting required as a part of the zoning process.
• Recognized that Cary Aquatics center relies on the parking area in the northeast corner of the property for events

From Zach (who fielded the majority of questions)
• Topgolf is a combination restaurant/driving range
• There is no formal site plan yet developed. However, it seemed from the meeting that the only possible configuration on the Cary Towne Center (CTC) property would be to place the facility parallel to Ivy lane. The restaurant and driving bays would occupy the space where Sears is currently located. The Sears store would be torn down to accommodate it. The indoor portion would not be connected to the mall and the road around the mall would go between the mall and Topgolf. The outfield would extend northeast toward the aquatics center.
• The restaurant portion of Topgolf would be approximately 400 feet wide. The outfield portion would be aproximately 600 feet long.
• Operating hours vary based on municipality. Opening is 9am. Closing could vary between 12am and 2am.
• Topgolf in Allen, Texas (opened 2007) was offered as a case in which "we screwed everything up".
• Noise would be limited to 45 decibels at the property boundary. Noise control methods include: plexiglass dividers on the rooftop terrace, insulation in columns between the bays, and facing the open side of the bays away from the neighborhood
• Current zoning for CTC has a minimum building setback of 250 feet. I asked if the outfield location would be limited by the restriction and no one was able to provide an answer.
• A pole and netting structure will surround the perimeter of the outfield. The poles will be 170 feet tall and gray in color. The netting is black and has 93% light transmittance.
• The outfield will be illuminated during business hours after sunset. Zach could not say what type of lighting will be used. Louvers can/will be used to limit spill over into Ivy Lane. The lamps are on dimmable ballasts. At some locations, the lights are dimmed to limit light pollution. The height of the lights was said to be 40 feet. (Note: I looked and the Cary Land Development Ordinance standards for lighting [7.9.3(a)(2)] lists the maximum height for cut-off lights as 37 feet. I'm not a lawyer and am unfamiliar with reading ordinances. Can anyone confirm this?)
• Peak hours for traffic at Topgolf are after 6pm and on weekends
• Town of Cary staff did not see a need for a traffic study

Neighbor Concerns and Comments
• A representative from Cary Aquatics center expressed concern over the loss of parking.
• Many neighbors expressed concern over people visiting Cary Aquatics center parking on Ivy Lane during large meets and events
• Neighbors asked about changes in road access points between Ivy Lane and the mall, i.e. Lyerly Lane and the walking path to the Aquatic Center. No changes will be made.
• Neighbors suggested increasing the height of the fence between CTC and Ivy Meadows to minimize sound and light overspill.
• Many neighbors voiced concern over light and noise pollution


Those are my unbiased notes. My opinion is that Topgolf has their work cut out for them if they want to present a plan that limits the impact on the neighbors to the south and the retirement community that will be developed to the north. Based on the dimensions of the average Topgolf and the size of the available space at CTC, it seems to me like Topgolf will be a tight fit in that space. It's difficult to imagine how the mall, Cary Aquatics Center, and the Town of Cary will adapt to the decrease in available parking. Remember, ToC uses that space for parking and shuttle service during Lazy Day and the NC State fair. Cary Aquatics Center parking during large events will probably overflow onto Ivy Lane.

With regards to the infrastructure required for Topgolf, I don't think the impact of 170 foot tall poles and netting can be overstated. This is really, really tall. That's almost a 16 story building. It's difficult to imagine to imagine the impact of these nets on the landscape without seeing a line of sight mock up.

The lights are probably the biggest worry for me. Light spillover is already a problem for houses directly adjacent to CTC (I'm one of them). Light pollution will almost certainly be magnified by Topgolf, who needs to illuminate a 700' by 400' outfield. I just don't know how they'll do it without significantly impacting the neighbors.

That's all I've got. Someone please correct me if I've gotten anything wrong here.
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Old 12-16-2014, 06:21 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
1,309 posts, read 2,928,453 times
Reputation: 1514
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoBromhal View Post
if they want to give it a try, I say go for it. I don't know how it's needed - unless Knight's Play and many other sports bars are at higher usage than I've seen, but that's the beauty of free enterprise.
Top Golf is more than just your run-of-the-mill driving range. Think of darts but for golf. Balls have microchips that track and score your shot. KP has dozens of crappy golfers trying to get good but frustrated in the process. TG has food, booze to keep you from remembering how bad a golfer you are.

I say bring it! Should be fun. My only regret is it isn't closer to Parkside Town Commons area, which is a selfish way of saying it would be closer to me.
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Old 12-16-2014, 06:45 AM
 
Location: Morrisville, NC
9,131 posts, read 14,697,388 times
Reputation: 9037
Honestly, Parkside Town area would be a better location for it as they could put it beside RTP or 540 so fewer issues with lights causing issues with residences.

As far as dealing with sound and light, that would have to be a pretty tall fence on the back of their property to do much. It would be much better dealt with at the source through light fixture selection and aiming. Hopefully they have learned as they built these and can work something out. It does at least sound as if they are trying to do the right thing. I

I am having a hard time figuring out how they can squeeze in a 300 yard range and still have any building connecting to the Mall at the current Sears opening. Maybe they don't want to connect directly or they can wrap the building around?
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Old 12-16-2014, 06:52 AM
 
347 posts, read 518,801 times
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Sherifftruman, while there is no site plan yet submitted, it was said at the meeting that Topgolf would be separate from the mall and the road around the mall would be rerouted between the mall and Topgolf.
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Old 12-16-2014, 07:37 AM
DPK
 
4,594 posts, read 5,700,153 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sherifftruman View Post
I am having a hard time figuring out how they can squeeze in a 300 yard range and still have any building connecting to the Mall at the current Sears opening. Maybe they don't want to connect directly or they can wrap the building around?
The range for TopGolf is 240 yards and as TheKlunk said, the road would be rerouted between the facility and the mall.
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Old 12-16-2014, 08:28 AM
 
Location: Cary, NC
4,297 posts, read 5,956,431 times
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Thanks for the report, TheKlunk. Sounds about like what we thought, but definitely going to be issues with the proximity to Ivy Lane. 170 feet is pretty close to the typical height of cell phone antenna towers around here....these won't have the antennas hanging off of them, but imagine 20 or so of those in close proximity. Light and noise pollution and the parking situation seem to be significant issues as well...very interested to see how this plays out.
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Old 12-16-2014, 08:29 AM
 
Location: My House
34,937 posts, read 36,122,580 times
Reputation: 26547
Why on earth do they want to put it out there?

It sounds like a good type of facility, but why right in the middle of town?

Bizarre.
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