Long-term public ground lease for private development and operation of a motocross park in east central florida

Volusia County, Florida is issuing Request for Proposal 26-P-45PW seeking a qualified private developer and operator to design, permit, construct, and operate a regional motocross park on approximately 77 acres of County-owned property located on State Road 44, approximately ten miles east of DeLand, Florida. The selected Concessionaire will enter into a thirty-year ground lease agreement and assume full responsibility for all financing, development, operations, and maintenance at its sole expense, with construction required to commence following permit issuance and be completed within twenty-four months of the lease effective date. The facility will serve as a regional destination for motocross racing, practice, training, and related motorized recreation, strategically positioned six miles from Interstate 4 and ten miles from Interstate 95, placing approximately 4 million residents within a ninety-minute drive radius and capturing year-round tourist traffic from Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, and the Space Coast. The mandatory pre-proposal conference is scheduled for February 27, 2026, at 9:30 AM at the UF/IFAS Extension Volusia County facility with a site visit to follow; questions must be submitted by March 10, 2026, at 11:59 PM; and proposals are due March 31, 2026, by 3:00 PM through the County's eProcurement Portal. Respondents must propose an initial monthly rent of not less than $4,000 per month for the first five years with annual Consumer Price Index adjustments beginning in year five, and evaluation will be based on qualifications and experience (27 points), operational and business plan viability (25 points), community benefit plan (15 points), financial ability (15 points), financial proposal pricing (20 points), and value-added amenities (2 points). Respondents must demonstrate financial capacity through recent financial statements and letters of intent from financing sources or surety companies, obtain payment and performance bonds equal to one hundred percent of project costs, and secure all required insurance coverages including workers' compensation, commercial general liability with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $5,000,000 general aggregate, commercial auto liability, excess liability of $5,000,000, and environmental site pollution liability of $2,000,000 per incident before lease execution.

The solicitation documents do not identify set-aside designations, disadvantaged enterprise restrictions, or incumbent vendors applicable to this opportunity. The County will contribute up to $1.25 million from voter-approved ECHO (Environmental, Cultural, Historic, and Outdoor Recreation) program funds toward eligible infrastructure improvements, with the Concessionaire identifying anticipated uses of these funds within its business plan. The project incorporates ECHO program requirements including minimum two-day-per-week public access, uniform fee schedules for Volusia County residents, and annual compliance reporting through a standardized ECHO Project Annual Report template due January 15 annually. The property encompasses approximately 358 acres, with the initial development boundary of approximately 77 acres expandable to approximately 98 acres contingent upon wetland mitigation; the County is responsible for obtaining environmental permits and resolving pre-existing wetland impacts through an Environmental Resource Permit from the St. Johns River Water Management District and an Individual Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with any additional wetland impacts chosen by the developer becoming the sole responsibility of the Concessionaire at an estimated cost of approximately $1.25 million. Supporting technical documentation includes geotechnical and stormwater evaluation reports, topographic surveys, Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, and a feasibility study by Hunden Partners projecting initial construction costs of approximately $10.2 million with projected annual facility revenues reaching approximately $184,743 to $9,909 by stabilization depending on operational model. The procuring jurisdiction is Volusia County, home to Daytona International Speedway and recognized as the "Motorsports Capital of the World," and the opportunity addresses a market gap in the four-county region (Volusia, Flagler, Brevard, and Seminole Counties) where no publicly owned motocross facility currently exists, indicating demonstrated demand, limited competition, and significant growth potential.