Cincinnati real estate veteran Jeffrey R. Anderson plans to spend more than $1 million to open a mini golf course at The Banks on Cincinnati’s riverfront.
The Putt House @ Freedom Park would include 18 holes and be run out of The Filson, the restaurant at Vine Street and Freedom Way owned and operated by Anderson’s real estate firm.
“It’s a way to bring people down to The Banks, to get more families to come down,” Anderson told the Cincinnati Park Board on July 16.
The park board OK’d an agreement for the city to take ownership of the Putt House site from Hamilton County and give Cincinnati Parks’ staff control over the final design and some operational decisions of the mini golf business.
Pending completion of a city lease, Anderson won the right to run Putt House for three years.
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval announced July 2 that the city had signed the lease, as part of efforts to build out The Banks as a destination.
Real estate veteran Jeffrey R. Anderson wants to add Putt House @ Freedom Park to The Filson, the restaurant he owns at The Banks district in downtown Cincinnati.
November opening planned
Anderson, a one-time NFL running back active in commercial real estate since the 1970s, told the Park Board that Putt House would:
Operate seven days a week, weather allowing, when The Filson is open.
Include lighting and fencing for security.
Be under construction by Aug. 15 and open by Nov. 15, when the Cincinnati Bengals host the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Anderson said his firm would donate $100,000 a year to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center as part of the deal. The facility would be family-friendly, he said, and seek to educate customers about the Freedom Center and its mission.
More: Did I just manifest mini golf at The Banks? Maybe
Real estate veteran Jeffrey R. Anderson wants to add Putt House @ Freedom Park to The Filson, the restaurant he owns at The Banks district in downtown Cincinnati.
Putt House inspired by concept tied to Tiger Woods
Anderson told the Park Board that Putt House’s design is inspired by PopStroke of Jupiter, Florida, which operates 22 mini golf sites and counts professional golfer Tiger Woods as an investor.
He also plans a Cincinnati legends’ theme, with plaques honoring famous Ohioans. That might include astronaut Neil Armstrong, basketball great Oscar Robertson and one-time president William Howard Taft, all suggested in his presentation to the Park Board.
Putt House will be “high-end” and “first-class,” he said, with the kind of artificial turf that professional golf courses use.
Park Board President Molly North asked Anderson if the turf would include “forever chemicals,” a source of controversy at other Cincinnati Parks. Anderson said he did not know. Parks Director Jason Barron said he would look into and report back on that question.
Real estate veteran Jeffrey R. Anderson wants to add Putt House @ Freedom Park to The Filson, his restaurant at The Banks district downtown.
Anderson got start picking sites for Chi-Chi’s
Anderson created Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate in 1985, after working in site selection for the once popular Chi-Chi’s and other restaurant chains before that, according to his company website. His firm now owns restaurants, hotels, apartments and other properties in Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, South Carolina and Florida.
In Cincinnati, in addition to The Filson, Anderson developed Crestview Hills Town Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky; Rookwood Exchange and Rookwood Apartments in Norwood; and AG47 apartments in Silverton.
Anderson, a 1965 graduate of Cincinnati’s Mariemont High School, played college football at the University of Virginia. The Washington Redskins – the Commanders since 2022 – drafted and released him in 1969.
Real estate veteran Jeffrey R. Anderson wants to add Putt House @ Freedom Park to The Filson, his restaurant at The Banks district downtown.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: New mini golf course on Ohio riverfront will cost $1M