The city and developers of a $50 million Topgolf project expect to begin moving forward this year on plans that would revitalize the aging Ala Wai driving range and enhance the 150-acre footprint it sits in.

The project, which is a public-private partnership involving Dallas-based Topgolf and local developers the MacNaughton Group and Kobayashi Group, was announced following a request for proposals in 2018 but has been on hold while the parties have gauged community concerns and awaited a resolution of flood plain mitigation issues.

A plan to address the flood plain issues is close to a determination, according to a person briefed on the talks.

The city, Topgolf and developers are scheduled to make a presentation to the Diamond Head/Kapahulu/ St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board at its 6:30 p.m. meeting Thursday at the Ala Wai Clubhouse.

Topgolf said it currently has 58 locations, including three in the United Kingdom and one in Australia, offering technology-based golf entertainment where customers hit microchipped balls at targets. At the Ala Wai, Topgolf said it will offer a four-tiered platform that will be consistent with the height of the current clubhouse. It also plans on approximately 100 hitting bays, each accommodating up to six people, in addition to restaurant space, meeting rooms, event spaces and keiki indoor and outdoor play areas.

Topgolf would be responsible for the $50 million in construction costs and will design, finance, operate and maintain the facility on the 7.26-acre footprint currently occupied by the driving range. Under terms of the agreement, Topgolf would be granted a 20-year lease with an option for 20 more years. In return, the city is to initially receive $1.06 million annually in rent on a schedule that increases 3.16% annually, plus 1% of annual gross sales.

Participants said Tuesday that once the environmental studies are launched, they estimate it will be “1.5 to 2 years” to move through lease approval, entitlement and other steps. Once those processes are concluded and approval is given by the City Council and state Department of Land and Natural Resources, construction would require about a year.

Plans are for a temporary range to be set up during construction and to minimize disruption of the 18-hole golf course.

“I’m really feeling that we are at a crossroads here (for golf on Oahu), and this project is absolutely crucial to the long-term stability of golf on the island,” said Mark Rolfing, an NBC and Golf Channel commentator who is a project adviser.

The city said that in fiscal year 2019, the most recent figures available, it received $529,004 in revenue from the Ala Wai driving range operations.

The Ala Wai once achieved Guinness Book of World Records recognition as the busiest golf course on the globe with 220,000 rounds played per year, and its popularity helped pay for the operation of the city’s other five municipal courses.

But, as has been the trend with many municipal courses around the country, use has declined. Just 129,183 rounds were played at the Ala Wai in 2019, a city spokesman said.

“The realities of the golf division are that it requires about $4.7 million in subsidies from the general fund to balance,” said Guy Kaulukukui, director of the city Department of Enterprise Services. “We have an operating expense of about $14.7 million and revenues of about $10 million.”

Kaulukukui said, “We have been trying to find ways to have golf be sustainable so (it) can to be available and affordable to the residents, particularly in the core of Honolulu. To that end, we have looked at different options, but it became pretty clear that our driving range is generating about $500,000 a year for the city and is probably underperforming. It could do only one thing. Right now we rent golf balls, (people) hit golf balls, we collect them and do it all over again.”

When the city sought to diversify the operation and put out a request for proposals in 2017, it said Topgolf ‘s response emerged as the leading prospect.

In its meetings with community groups, project participants said some respondents expressed concerns about how lighting and noise might affect the neighborhood.

“Our designs have evolved over the last 10 years,” said Tanner Micheli, Topgolf director of development. “We have found ways to improve lighting and noise. We’re quite confident that as we work through the environmental process that we’ll be able to mitigate those concerns.”

Rolfing said he envisions Ala Wai becoming a “golf house” that could unite many facets of the golf community, including junior golf, under one roof, but more urgent is a move to sustainability. Rolfing said, “Without this Topgolf project, I really don’t see a plan that is going to make this particular golf (model) sustainable long term. I really don’t.”