The El Segundo (Calif.) City Council will negotiate with Topgolf and Drive Shack to determine which proposal will be best to revive its ailing municipal golf course. Each proposal promises millions in investment, the addition of hundreds of year-round jobs, and base rent totaling as much as $70 million over a 50-year period.
The El Segundo (Calif.) City Council voted on September 4th to move forward with negotiations on two of the nine proposals that it considered to revive The Lakes at El Segundo, its ailing municipal golf course, reported eGundo.com.
Nearly a year after scuttling a deal with Topgolf that was five years in the making, the city council has now decided to consider a proposal from Topgolf and its development partner, CenterCal Properties, along with one from Drive Shack, a Topgolf competitor that promises $25 million of investment, more than 400 year-round jobs (as does Topgolf) and a base rent of $70 million over a 50-year period.
In its latest pitch, according to The Beach Reporter of Hermosa Beach, Calif. Topgolf has proposed essentially the same concept as before, with an entertainment-centered driving range, new clubhouse and reconfigured course, but the financial contribution toward the city is far greater.
The company suggests investing $40 million in privately funded capital while paying $38 million in rent toward the city for the next 20 years— substantially more than the $625,000 per year the company promised to El Segundo previously, according to The Beach Reporter.
El Segundo officials pulled the plug on TopGolf last year in part because they found out the company promised the Northern California city of Burlingame $1.5 million in annual rent, according to The Beach Reporter.
The council chose not to pursue more traditional proposals that would have kept the public facility much as it is today, but with enhancements, such as one from Billy Casper Golf that suggested investing $1.8 million, converting the course’s first hole to a sports field, adding to the chipping area, and building a new clubhouse and pro shop.
The Lakes at El Segundo property was originally owned by Chevron and gifted to the city with a deed restriction on the use of the land, so that company will need to weigh in on any future proposed use, The Beach Reporter noted.
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