National sports entertainment firm Topgolf partnered with Washington, D.C., brokerage KLNB and several government entities in Baltimore to open one of its golf-entertainment venues in the city’s stadium-studded entertainment district. Completed in October, the development has garnered a CoStar Impact Award for the commercial development of the year in Baltimore's market as selected by a panel of judges based in the market.
The 65,000-square-foot retail project occupies a 7 acre-site at 1411 Warner St. just south of Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles play, and M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL’s Ravens. It also neighbors Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, a 260,000-square-foot gaming facility that debuted in 2014.
Developed on the former site of Baltimore’s animal control office and a parking lot, the Topgolf venue is one of the first projects to open at the newly dubbed Walk at Warner Street. The mini district is meant to link M&T Bank Stadium with the casino and a 4,000-seat music hall called Paramount Baltimore set to open in the summer.
KLNB has worked with Topgolf since 2012 when the entertainment company opened a location in Sterling, Virginia. Since then, Topgolf has added two other sites closer to Washington, D.C., in Oxon Hill and Germantown, Maryland, but this is the firm's first in Baltimore. The deal took eight years and involved three separate government entities to come to fruition, brokers said.
About the Property: Along with 90 outdoor hitting bays, the venue offers dining options, a rooftop terrace and rooms for private events.
What the Judges Said: “Filling out the entertainment offerings near the stadiums and casino is a great positive for the region and tourism related businesses and jobs,” said Doug Schmidt, a principal at Workshop Development. “Hopefully, Top Golf will be successful and encourage other attractions to come to this very accessible location.”
They Made It Happen: The KLNB team that worked with Topgolf comprised John Meyer and Brian Finkelstein. From Topgolf, Chris Callaway, Sanjay Arora and Karra Barry worked on the project. Arthur Adler of Caves Valley Partners, Bill Krol of ARCO/Murray, Kim Clark of Baltimore Development Corp., Neil Wilson of RealtyLink and Terry Syler of Retail Connection were also involved in the deal.
