© 2025 Western New York Public Broadcasting Association

140 Lower Terrace
Buffalo, NY 14202

Mailing Address:
Horizons Plaza P.O. Box 1263
Buffalo, NY 14240-1263

Buffalo Toronto Public Media | Phone 716-845-7000
WBFO Newsroom | Phone: 716-845-7040
Your NPR Station
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Protect My Public Media

Buffalo golf complex teeing up for construction phase

A rendering of the proposed ShotClub Social facility on Elm Street.
Jim Fink
/
WBFO News
A rendering of the proposed ShotClub Social facility on Elm Street.

In a key step that will serve as a pre-construction prelude for a planned $30 million golf and entertainment center, the development team behind the ShotClub Social project will be meeting with the Buffalo Planning Board on March 10th.

The planning team, led by architect Kevin Murrett of Architectural Resources, will be seeking zoning changes needed for the ShotClub Social project to advance into the construction phase. The project still needs several other city-backed approvals.

Some six years in the planning, ShotClub Social is proposed for a vacant parcel at 555 Elk Street - the site of a one-time Mobil Oil refinery. The land has long since been remediated and is considered development-shovel-ready.

Originally set for a Ganson Street site, the development team headed by Doug Swift and Joe Petrella shifted to the Elk Street site during the Covid-19 pandemic years. The site almost neighbors the Jon Williams’ developed Powerhouse and former Medaille University sports complex - both of which are also just off Elk Street.

Development plans call for a 45,000-square-foot building to be constructed that will be anchored by 60 golf ranges - a mix of indoor and outdoor ranges - plus other amenities, including duckpin bowling, arcade games, and golf simulators.

Pending various city approvals, construction is slated to start later this year, and the project should be tee-off ready by mid-2026.

A Buffalo native, Jim Fink has been reporting on business and economic development news in the Buffalo Niagara region since 1987, when he returned to the area after reporting on news in Vermont for the Time-Argus Newspaper and United Press International.