Topgolf teed up for final approval

Zoning change needed for project gets key panel's backing

By DANIEL KITTREDGE
Posted 1/23/19

By DANIEL KITTREDGE Plans for a Topgolf facility in Cranston are on the proverbial green. On a 6-0 vote, the City Council's Ordinance Committee on Jan. 17 gave its backing to a zoning change needed to accommodate a proposed sports-entertainment complex

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Topgolf teed up for final approval

Zoning change needed for project gets key panel's backing

Posted

Plans for a Topgolf facility in Cranston are on the proverbial green.

On a 6-0 vote, the City Council’s Ordinance Committee on Jan. 17 gave its backing to a zoning change needed to accommodate a proposed sports-entertainment complex to the former site of Citizens Bank’s corporate offices on Sockanosset Cross Road, setting the stage for approval from the full nine-member council later this month. The project has already received master plan approval from the city’s Planning Commission.

Kelly Coates, president of Carpionato Group, told the Ordinance Committee that the project would produce a “key amenity” for local residents and businesses.

“This will be something that’s not a subsidized project. There’s no tax deal, there is no financial deal with the city,” he said. “The only deal is, let us come in, pay our fair share, do a new development and help lease up office and bring in more employment … This is a tremendous project for Cranston.”

Others, however, urged committee members not to support the zoning change.

“We are not against business coming to Cranston … But this particular venue is totally inappropriate for Chapel View,” said Pauline DeRosa, a resident of Cypress Drive and founder of the Garden City Alliance community group.

She added, “This project has been fast-tracked from the very beginning with no input from any of the residents.”

The site in question, located at 100 Sockanosset Cross Road, encompasses approximately 23 acres. Its owner, Carpionato Group – operating as 100 Sockanosset LLC – has reached an agreement with Texas-based Topgolf to operate in Cranston for 20 years. Backers say the project will generate more than $1 million in tax revenue for the city annually.

The three-story, 67,000-square-foot Topgolf facility and its accompanying 4.8-acre range area would be located along the rear of the property near Route 37, while approximately 200,000 square feet of the more than 300,000-square-foot building that had been used by Citizens Bank would be converted into retail and office space. Plans also call for construction of a multi-level parking garage.

Matt Smith, a representative of Topgolf, said the company’s facilities typically cost between $25 million and $30 million to construct, although the Cranston project has not yet been put to bid.

The site is located in a C-5 commercial/industrial zone, and the zoning amendment related to Topgolf would update a set of special conditions that Carpionato sought – and the city adopted – in 2016 in advance of Citizens Bank’s departure.

Specifically, the amendment would allow commercial recreation, cultural uses, recreational membership clubs, commercial off-street parking and electric vehicle charging stations at the site by right. It would also provide for a maximum accessory height limit of 190 feet to allow for the range area’s netting and poles and create new allowances for signage.

Coates said the highest poles will actually be 176 feet in height, and the 190-foot limit is being sought as a “safety.” He also said Carpionato Group did not anticipate the Topgolf project when it sought the initial set of zoning changes in 2016.

“We did not envision the height of the nets for Topgolf, or Topgolf as a facility,” he said. “We did envision entertainment.”

Members of the Garden City Alliance and other opponents of the project have raised concerns regarding potential noise and traffic issues, as well as the proposed facility’s visual impact.

“You’re putting more and more and more into a congested area,” Gail Harvey, a resident of Meshanticut Valley Parkway, told the committee.

“I feel a little like the Grinch telling you that there is no Santa Claus and there is no Christmas,” she added. “But there are many people who aren’t too fond of this project … I know that you’re not going to be able to say no to $1.2 million in tax revenue, and I know that this is going to pass. But I also know that this is not the best project we could possibly have.”

DeRosa said Topgolf would have an “irrevocable impact on the quality of life” in the area. She said traffic studies have not adequately addressed the “failed intersection” of Sockanosset Cross Road and Pontiac Avenue.

“Traffic assessments that were done are not correct, as far as we who live in the community can tell you,” she said.

Feeling misled

Hall Place resident Tom Wojick also questioned the traffic studies, dropping a pen to illustrate gravity and saying, “That’s science. A traffic study is not science.” He said members of the community feel “misled” with regard to Topgolf.

“This has been pitched as a quality of life enhancement … This is entertainment,” he said, later adding, “We don’t need entertainment. We need good housing and good businesses …That’s what you're here for, is to protect the future.”

Attorney Robert Murray spoke on behalf of his client Jeff Saletin of CFS Limited Partners, who owns the Crossroads Office Park on the northern side of Sockanosset Cross Road. He spoke highly of Carpionato Group and said his remarks were not intended to be “anti-Topgolf,” but urged council members to take a more “global” perspective.

“What we don’t have tonight is a comprehensive study and traffic analysis of the corridor on Sockanosset Cross Road … I urge you to consider hitting the pause button on this,” he said.

Planning staff members have pointed to traffic studies in suggesting the impact will be minimal, particularly compared with the traffic associated with the previous Citizens Bank offices.

“The proposed redevelopment will result in a significant decrease … in the amount of office space and the intensity of the office use which results in a decrease in weekday morning and evening peak hour traffic from this land use,” reads a memorandum from Principal Planner Doug McLean.

It continues, “The peak traffic generation and traffic patterns of the proposed entertainment center are different than the current Citizens Bank facility. The proposed entertainment center will generate less traffic than the Citizens Bank during the weekday morning and evening peak periods of the adjacent roadway. The entertainment center will generate some traffic during the Saturday midday peak period compared to negligible traffic generated by the Citizens Bank. This minimal increase in traffic can be accommodated due to the lower traffic volumes during Saturday midday peak than during the weekday evening peak.”

Coates also said the volume of traffic to the Topgolf facility will be greatest on weekends and during times that currently see a low number of vehicles coming into the area.

“It peaks on the summer evenings, so it peaks when Garden City and Chapel View are not peaking,” he said.

Cranston benefits

Others spoke of what they see as the project’s benefits for Cranston. Highland Street resident Adam Lupino called Topgolf a “unique and exciting development for our city.” Lincoln Park Avenue resident Arthur Jordan praised Carpionato Group as the “premier developer in the state” and called its Chapel View development a “diamond.”

“It’s a mecca … It’s beautiful. And it’s made Garden City more beautiful,” he said. “This is a no-brainer.”

Ordinance Committee members spoke uniformly in support of the Topgolf project while recognizing the concerns and efforts of the Garden City Alliance.

“I support this project,” Ward 2 Councilman Paul McAuley said. “I think Mr. Coates is a fine gentleman … When he says something, I believe it. I also respect Pauline and her group.”

Ward 4 Councilman Edward Brady said he had been “disappointed” when it appeared in October that the Topgolf proposal would not move forward.

“I applaud [Carpionato Group] for getting this proposal back in front of us,” he said. “I am fully in support of this.”

Council President Michael Farina, who serves in a citywide seat, said believes the Topgolf approval process has been “very transparent.” He acknowledged concerns over traffic and other issues, but said officials have done their due diligence.

“Nothing is inevitable. We vet, we ask questions and we vote,” he said.

Ward 5 Councilman Chris Paplauskas echoed Farina’s comments.

“All of us here in the council take everything into consideration … and we definitely take it to heart,” he said.

Citywide Councilman Ken Hopkins said he found “overwhelming support” for the project through a Facebook survey of community members.

Ward 6 Councilman Michael Favicchio, who chairs the Ordinance Committee, called the Topgolf project a “tremendous investment” in the city.

“I think the increased tax revenue will be there,” he said.

“This is going to be a great addition to our city,” Ward 3 Councilman John Donegan said.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Lammis Vargas, a member of the Ordinance Committee, was absent due to a previously planned vacation, Favicchio said.

The full City Council is set to consider the Topgolf zoning change at its Jan. 28 meeting.

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