A development deal that would bring Colorado’s second Topgolf location to north Thornton is on hold after a resident who lives next to the proposed site filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming that the land isn’t appropriately zoned for the project.
Lotte Radoor has lived off East 134th Avenue and Washington Street with her four children for four years. She said she was concerned that she was going to have to move when she found out that Topgolf was planning to build a three-story, 102-bay facility more than 170 feet tall just several hundred feet from her home.
“I don’t want Topgolf going on that site in general,” Radoor said. “I purchased my house with the understanding that there would be businesses located there. I have a handicapped child, and if Topgolf goes in I will probably have to move because he has severe sensory issues.”
Radoor filed her claim against the city in Adams County District Court after she and dozens of other residents from the Rolling Hills subdivision expressed their concerns about the proposed location of the 65,00-square-foot golf entertainment complex east of Interstate 25 and south of 136th Avenue, parallel to Thorncreek Golf Course.
“One of my concerns is that they’re allowing this outfit to go in a business-park-zoned area,” Radoor said. “Topgolf is a commercial golf amusement center and driving range. It’s not an office complex. They’re going to have a rooftop bar that’s going to be open until 2 a.m. every morning, so it’s really not the correct zoning.”
Last fall, Thornton City Council voted 8-1 to allow Topgolf to start building with a special-use permit. They also granted the Dallas-based company $3.75 million in project incentives. That’s when Radoor filed her suit.
Construction was slated to begin this spring but will be delayed until a judge reviews Radoor’s objections and makes a ruling on the validity of Thornton City Council’s decision to grant the permit.
Litigation with Topgolf will also affect the progress of the planned 14,500-square-foot ViewHouse sports bar and restaurant in Thornton, which is ostensibly tied to the Topgolf development.
“ViewHouse is interested in doing the restaurant if Topgolf is there,” said John Cody, director of Thornton Economic Development. “They want to be co-located with Topgolf, similar to the setup in Centennial. They don’t want to open ahead of Topgolf, though … so both projects are technically on hold right now.”
The ViewHouse closed on a property adjacent to the possible Topgolf site — at West 136th Avenue and I-25 — in December, and they have already submitted a conceptual site plan to Thornton. Officials hope to open this year.
Morgan Wallace, senior communications specialist for Topgolf, said that the Dallas-based company is still very interested in the Thornton site, and they hope to resume progress on that site after the court ruling. There is no set date for the case yet.
“Topgolf has had their eye on Thornton for a while,” Wallace said. “We are still very interested in pursuing that location and hopefully one day opening up there in Thornton.”
She said it takes eight to 10 months to build the venue once everything goes through final approvals.
Right now, the private landowner of the Topgolf site has begun grading and utility work to prepare the property for Topgolf developers.
“We’re optimistic that everything will work out,” Cody said. “You’ll see that work is happening on the site now.”
But Radoor hopes that her objection will at least make Topgolf officials consider relocating the project somewhere further from Rolling Hills and Big Dry Creek.
“I and all the neighbors here that I’ve talked to all want Topgolf to come up here, we would love to have them,” Radoor said. “But it shouldn’t be right next to our neighborhood, and it shouldn’t be in such an environmentally sensitive area.”