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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 07-09-2026; 6-e - Solicitation of Offers to Purchase – 6823 Millhouse Road 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: July 9, 2026 Action Agenda Item No. 6-e SUBJECT: Solicitation of Offers to Purchase — 6823 Millhouse Road DEPARTMENT: County Manager, County Attorney, Environment, Agriculture, Parks & Recreation (DEAPR) ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Draft Solicitation of Offers Document Travis Myren, 919-245-2300 Map of Property for Potential Sale John Roberts, 919-245-2318 David Stancil, 919-245-2522 PURPOSE: To review and authorize a "Solicitation of Offers for Purchase of Real Property for Public Purpose Use, 6823 Millhouse Road," as amended. BACKGROUND: At the Board's November 11, 2025 work session, staff presented information concerning options for the potential sale of approximately 45 acres of land at 6823 Millhouse Road, for the purpose of facilitating a non-profit owned and operated field complex that would include both private and public field play use. This property has previously been referred to as part of the future Millhouse Road Park and was listed in previous County Capital Investment Plans as such. As shown on the overall site map, the total property is 79 acres, with approximately 34 acres to the western and southwestern areas of the site containing natural resource constraints, a Natural Heritage site adjoining Duke Forest, and topographic changes not suitable for a field complex. The Board reviewed this part of the property at the November 11 work session and determined that only the 45 remaining acres shown on the map of available area should be included in the area for sale. The remaining 34 acres of natural resource land may be retained or conveyed to a conservation partner, pending further discussions. The sale of County property to a non-profit organization for a public purpose is authorized under North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS) 160A-279(a) and 160A-267. At the November 11, 2025 work session, the Board authorized the Manager, Attorney and staff to develop a document to solicit proposals for purchase by a non-profit organization, under the public purpose provisions above, to develop a multi-field complex for soccer and/or other similar field sports, with certain conditions attached: 2 • The fields complex will be managed and operated so as to allow both private usage coordinated by the non-profit owner as well as usage for public recreational play, including tournaments and other special events; • The non-profit owner will enter into a Memorandum of Agreement concurrent with the sale of the property regarding the property, expectations of use and other conditions; and • A deed restriction that reverts the land to County ownership if the conditions of usage are not met will be included in the deed of sale; The Board reviewed the draft document at the Business Meeting on March 17, 2026, and asked that it be adjusted for clarity and a new appraisal be commissioned to determine the property value of the area to be sold, with the above conditions factored in. The revised document, if approved, could be issued on July 14, 2026, with proposals due September 18, 2026 (submittal timeframe extended as per discussion at the March 17 Business meeting). FINANCIAL IMPACT: The Solicitation of Offers document would result in offers to purchase the property in question, which if conveyed would generate revenue for the County. Expected tournaments and special events at the facility would also generate economic impact for the community. While 45 acres of the site is listed as available for purchase, it should be noted that the Solicitation of Offers could provide for an offer on a lesser amount of land. A new appraisal was conducted and received in late-May 2026, with the conditions and acreage as proposed during Board discussion on March 17, 2026. This new appraisal places the value of the approximately 45 acres at $648,000. ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports: • GOAL 2: HEALTHY COMMUNITY OBJECTIVE 7. Invest in services and programs that improve the health and quality of life of the community (e.g., recreation and public open spaces, arts, etc.) • GOAL 7: DIVERSE AND VIBRANT ECONOMY OBJECTIVE 1. Provide family-oriented and inclusive programming or other cultural events for residents and visitors. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board review the attached document and, after providing any direction or feedback, authorize staff to issue and publish the Solicitation document, receive proposals and offers, and negotiate terms of a potential sale under the conditions and provisions of the Solicitation of Offers and the statutory parameters provided above. 3 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA Solicitation of Offers for the Purchase of Property, 6823 Millhouse Road July 14, 2026 To Whom It May Concern: Please find attached a Solicitation of Offers for the Purchase of Property, issued by Orange County NC. 4 Description The property being offered for sale is described as follows, as well as shown on the map at Attachment 1: Approximately 45 acres of land contained as part of Orange County Parcel Identification (PIN) numbers 9871519160, and all of 9871607301, located at 6823 Millhouse Road, Chapel Hill NC 27516 and as shown in the map at Attachment 1 to this document. Note: The actual boundaries of land to be sold will be refined and specified by a survey based on Attachment 1, to be completed once the potential sale of land is negotiated. Statement of Intent/ Purpose of Sale Orange County intends, by action directed at a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on March 17, 2026 and July 9, 2026, to make available the aforementioned property for sale specifically for the following purpose: Sale to a non-profit entity for a public purpose, under the provisions of NC General Statute 160A-279(a) and 160A-267. The purchaser of said property will build on the land to be sold: • A playing field complex or center comprised primarily of fields designed and used for soccer, lacrosse, or other like sports which use the same size of playingfield. In addition to playing fields as outlined above,the facility should contain areas for parking, stormwater retention, restrooms and other appurtenances to the playing field complex generally included in facilities of this type. The deed of sale will include a Memorandum of Agreement regarding the planned and allowable uses of the land consistent with the above,to be executed by both parties. Prospective buyers are responsible for conducting their own due diligence and will take the property as is and subject to all existing easements, liens, etc. 1 5 Reversion Clause The purchase of the land described above will include in its deed of sale (and in the Memorandum of Agreement) a clause that specifies that: If the land conveyed by this sale is not used by the purchasee for the purposes described in Section I (Statement of Intentyabove within two(2ears of the closing of the property sale, the land in its entirety will revert back to the ownership of Orange County, NC. Process for Submitting Offer Proposals Deadline for Submitting Offers: September 18, 2026, 3:00 pm EDT Prospective buyers shall be a registered 501c3 non-profit organization, and must stipulate to build, manage and operate a facility of the following basis upon purchase of the property: • The construction, operation and management of a soccer (and other similar sized)recreational playingfield facilityfor private and public usage. Buyer agrees to operate facility under this stipulation, and that facility will be available for private and public usage to be further specified in a Memorandum of Agreement to be developed with the selected Prospective Buyer. • If at anytime the buyer does not meet the stipulated and conditional uses of the property stated herein and above, or in subsequent conditions created as part of the sale, ownership of the property shall revert to Orange County. • Proposal shall address plans to perform and undertake proper maintenance and management of the facility using sustainable field management and landscaping principles. A map of the land to be considered for sale may be found in Attachment 1. Prospective Buyers may submit proposals and purchase offers for all or a portion of the designated site. IMPORTANT NOTE: Prospective buyers shall bear the risk for late submission due to unintended or unanticipated delay. Any proposal submitted after the proposal deadline will be rejected. Prospective buyers should enter "Solicitation of Offers, 6823 Millhouse Road" as the subject for the transmittal email. One Electronic (PDF Format) submittal should be less 2 6 than 15MB in size and submitted by 3:00 p.m. EDT on September 18, 2026. Electronic submittals shall be emailed to David Stancil, DEAPR Director, at dstancil@orangecountync.gov by the date specified above. Please note the existence of Attachment 1 to this solicitation,which shows the potential land available for purchase under this proposal. If needed, critical updated information may be included in an Addenda to this solicitation. All prospective buyers shall be deemed to have read and understood all information in this Solicitation and all Addenda thereto. Proposal Contents Prospective buyers shall include all attachments of this Solicitation that require the prospective buyer to provide information, and include an authorized signature where requested. Responses shall include the following items, and these attachments should be arranged in the following order: a) Cover Letter(Identify Project Manager) b) Title Page: Include the non-profit organization name and Federal ID number. c) A proposed offer to purchase with dollar amount. d) A written narrative response to address the conditions of sale and use as shown in the above sections, and the proposed plans for the property with a project timetable. e) A written narrative response to address the manner in which the applicant meets the conditions for prospective buyers shown above. f) Prospective buyer experience and qualifications with the facility expectations in the above conditions and expected uses. g) Acknowledgement of receipt of any addenda. h) Completed and notarized E-Verify form. Timeline and Process for Consideration of Offer Proposals Offer proposals are due on September 18, 2026, 3:00 pm EDT, as previously noted. Once offer proposals are received, the Orange County Manager and staff will evaluate the offer proposals to ensure completeness and qualifying status. 3 7 The County may, at its discretion, subsequently request oral presentations with any or all prospective buyers for clarification, or to amplify the materials presented in any part of the proposal. Prospective Buyers are cautioned that this is a request for offers, not an offer or request to contract or acceptance and agreement to sell or lease, and Orange County reserves the unqualified right to reject any and all offers at anytime if such rejection is deemed to be in the best interest of the County. The intent of this request for offers is to find the best proposal for the property and potentially to begin negotiations with the Prospective Buyer submitting the best proposal. Upon completion of the evaluation process, the County will make a selection based on the evaluation criteria. The County will then enter negotiation for private sale with the selected entity pursuant to NCGS 160A-279. Questions about this process may be submitted to David Stancil, DEAPR Director, at dstancil@orangecountync.gov up to September 10, 2026. 4 Millhouse Road Tract- Area for Potential Sale 8 IANC)R V)1Z 13R(JfN TRL y r t 1 i1� M Dube Forest *� �Jd Fret N d Cres r� 0 0.04 0.09 0.17 Miles Tract Name: Millhouse Road Tract Legend + � l I I > > 1 —J ORANGE COUNTY Landowner: Orange County Streets Lat: 35' 58.69" Streams Long: -79' 04.85„ Date: 2/27/2025 Q Tax Parcel Created By: Christian Hirni Duke Forest Department of Environment, Image: 2021 Aerial Imagery � Available Agriculture,Parks&Recreation Acres: 78.7 (N47 available) �,