Walnut Creek Mini-Golf to Become Apartments

A miniature golf course in downtown Walnut Creek could turn into a housing development with more than 100 units.

Concord-based developer DeNova Homes, acting through its Yellow Roof Foundation nonprofit arm, filed plans to build 112 residential units in a five-story building at 1271 and 1275 South California Boulevard, the Mercury News reported.

The development, known as Centre Place South, would rise on the site of Putter’s Miniature Golf Walnut Creek. The housing development planned to be built in its place would consist of one- and two-bedroom units.

Of the 112 planned units, nine will be set aside for very-low-income households; in Contra Costa County, $79,900 in income per year for a household of four is considered “very-low-income.”

In order to get the project approved more quickly, DeNova is looking to pursue a streamlined city review process under Senate Bill 330. It previously used SB 330 to secure approval for two housing projects in Antioch consisting of 159 and 129 units.

Multifamily properties in Walnut Creek have been trading hands in recent months, though some housing projects are working their way down the pike to aid in the city meeting its state-mandated housing goals.

In September, for example, a local property owner submitted a preapplication to build a 74-unit apartment building on the site of Dutch Girl Cleaners at 2094 Mount Diablo Boulevard.

Last month, a TA Realty affiliate bought the 285-unit Hanover Walnut Creek apartments at 3050 Del Hombre for $163 million, or $571,900 per unit. The property was built in 2023.

That sale marked the second time in two months that large apartment complexes in Walnut Creek that were built in recent years fetched more than $150 million. In August, an Acacia Capital affiliate bought the 358-unit Waymark apartment complex at 101 Pringle Avenue for $190 million, or $530,700 per unit.

The City of Walnut Creek must plan to build 5,805 new housing units by 2031 as part of its housing element.

— Chris Malone Méndez