A mini golf course is proposed
for a derelict Barrington site.
Royal Greens Mini Golf would replace the roughly 10,000 square foot former Kids Castle building on Gloucester Pike, with essentially the entire 63,000 square foot property redrawn. The Barrington Planning Board hears it Aug. 24.
- Royal Greens Mini Golf is proposed for a Gloucester Pike property next to Royal Fitness, which shares the same ownership team
- The approximately 10,000 square foot building at the front would be demolished: last the Kids Castle daycare, before that a Tupperware distributor, and originally hangars built for the Barrington Airport
- Essentially the whole 63,000 square foot site is redrawn, with parking behind the course, stormwater management at the rear, and a small clubhouse; the Planning Board hearing is set for Aug. 24
Reported by 42Freeway.com. Summary in our words.
A miniature golf course is proposed for a Gloucester Pike property in Barrington, on the site of a building that has been sitting derelict. Royal Greens Mini Golf would go immediately next to Royal Fitness, and the two share the same ownership team. A public hearing before the Barrington Planning Board is scheduled for August 24.
The plans call for demolishing the roughly 10,000 square foot single-story building at the front of the property. Most residents know it as the former Kids Castle daycare, and before that it housed a Tupperware distributor; it was originally built as the Merrill Engineering hangars, part of the long-gone Barrington Airport, with a since-demolished rear section wide enough to move airplanes through. Today it has large holes in the roof and missing portions of the rear facade, and the parking lot has gone years without maintenance. A second building on the property came down about five years ago.
Essentially the entire 63,000 square foot property would be redeveloped. The course would sit toward the front where the building stands now, with parking behind it, appearing on the plans as about 35 spaces, and the far rear given over to stormwater management. The driveway would move to run between the new course and the Royal Fitness building next door. The only structure proposed is a small clubhouse where customers pay for rounds and buy concessions, with a paver area around it. The plans on file do not name a course theme or show individual hole designs.
For an owner nearby, the useful part is what a hearing date means and what it does not. A scheduled hearing is the point at which a proposal becomes public and the board takes testimony, and it is not an approval; the demolition, the site plan and the use all still have to clear that board. For a homeowner the condition of the property matters more than the golf: a building open to the weather, on a road with a fitness club and a Dollar Tree, is a listing detail a buyer's agent raises, and a cleared site changes that conversation whether or not this applicant is the one who clears it.
Our take
A building with holes in its roof is proposed to be replaced with a use that brings people to the road on evenings and weekends. If you own near Gloucester Pike, a cleared eyesore is one of the first things a buyer's agent points to.
Curious what your home would bring? Let's talk.
A proposal, not an approval. The Barrington Planning Board hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24 and plans can change. General information, not advice about any specific property. The JK Realty Group, brokered with OMNI Real Estate Professionals. Equal Housing Opportunity. See our Terms of Use for how we source and credit these posts.