Port of San Diego staff issued a Request for Proposals on October 24, 2016 for development of a first-class Destination Recreational Vehicle (RV) Park on the Chula Vista Bayfront.
The Board of Port Commissioners authorized the solicitation as part of ongoing efforts to advance the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan. Responses are due December 15, 2016.
The Request for Proposals is available on PlanetBids.
Encompassing 535 acres, the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan project will transform a formerly industrial waterfront into a major regional hub for jobs, hospitality, housing, and recreation. The new RV park would be located at E Street and Bay Boulevard. The scenic development site for the RV park covers 19 acres in the Sweetwater District of the Chula Vista Bayfront, near the Living Coast Discovery Center, the Sweetwater National Wildlife Refuge, and the Bayshore Bikeway. The site also offers views of San Diego Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and the downtown San Diego skyline.
The selected developer is expected to provide 237 RV stalls and amenities such as swimming pools, hot tubs, visitor-serving stores, barbecues, fire pits, active common areas, native landscaping, and a fitness center. The Port will entertain several development models. For instance, a developer could bill the Port for construction of the RV park that the Port would then own and operate through a third party, or a developer could construct, own, and operate the RV Park and pay the Port under a lease.
Interviews with prospective developers will occur in early 2017. Port staff plans to take its recommendation for the preferred developer before the Board of Port Commissioners in spring 2017. Depending on numerous factors, construction could start as early as summer 2018 and be completed by summer 2019.
The existing Chula Vista RV Resort will be closed to make way for development of a new resort hotel and conference center that will anchor the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan. Under the Port's land use requirements in the Port Master Plan, the new RV park must open before the existing one closes.
The existing Chula Vista RV Resort has operated a 237-stall RV park for more than 30 years at 460 Sandpiper Way under a lease with the Port that expires November 30, 2021. To make way for the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan, the owner of the existing resort was offered the site at E Street and Bay Boulevard for relocation, but declined.