The Bluffs — Michigan Active — Massive Expansion
Jay is actively developing a large-scale expansion of The Bluffs. No plan documents have been shared with this dashboard yet — once they are (see "Upload Development Plans" below), review will be checked against the RV development benchmarks on this page and against REAL_ESTATE_OPERATOR_FRAMEWORK.md's existing DSCR/cap-rate/occupancy norms.
Michigan-specific note: buried water lines need freeze-depth-compliant, heated risers — a Florida-park utility spec would not apply here. See the Utility Infrastructure benchmark below.
Madison — Florida Active Expansion
Jay is actively expanding Madison Community Resort — confirmed 2026-07-17 as the second of the two current active expansion projects, alongside The Bluffs. No plan documents have been shared with this dashboard yet — once they are (see "Upload Development Plans" below), review will be checked against the RV development benchmarks on this page and against REAL_ESTATE_OPERATOR_FRAMEWORK.md's existing DSCR/cap-rate/occupancy norms.
Sunkissed — Florida On Deck — 175-Site Expansion
Jay's own words, 2026-07-26: "we have sunkissed on deck to develop another 175 sites." A third real expansion project, distinct from the two currently active ones (Bluffs, Madison) — not yet underway, but a confirmed near-term plan, not speculation. No plan documents have been shared with this dashboard yet — once they are (see "Upload Development Plans" below), review will be checked against the RV development benchmarks on this page and against REAL_ESTATE_OPERATOR_FRAMEWORK.md's existing DSCR/cap-rate/occupancy norms.
Upload Development Plans
Jay's ask: "upload plans and ask AI what it would do differently." Email the plan (budget, feasibility narrative, zoning docs) with a subject starting "Plan Review: [project name]" — e.g. "Plan Review: Bluffs Expansion". Text-only review against the benchmarks below; site plans/renderings are not read (AI can't reliably interpret drawings — confirmed 42% accuracy on floor plans).
Plan Reviews
RV Park Development Reference
Site Density & Layout
Realistic planning band: 10–30 acres per 100 sites. Recommended mix: 60/40 pull-through vs. back-in. Minimum pad length 50+ ft. Sanity-check any proposed site count against the parcel's acreage and local zoning density cap before treating it as final.
Development Cost Benchmarks
Land: $1,000–$100,000+/acre (location-dependent). Site development (grading, roads, utility hookups): $15,000–$50,000/site, confirmed across two independent sources. Contingency reserve: 10–15% of total budget.
Utility Infrastructure
50-amp electrical standard (NFPA 1194); water/sewer must handle peak (morning) demand, not average. Michigan-specific: buried water lines need freeze-depth-compliant heated risers — distinct from Florida-park specs.
Permitting & Zoning
The single biggest timeline variable: is the parcel already zoned for RV-park/campground use (typically months) or does it need rezoning (a real case study cited over two years)? Check this first, before evaluating any other part of a plan.
Amenity & Revenue Strategy
High-impact amenities: pools, dog parks, clubhouses, glamping/cabin diversification. Explicit caution: never base the development decision on ancillary revenue — site rental economics must pencil on their own first.
Financial & Occupancy Benchmarks
Expense ratio 50–70% of revenue, NOI margin 30–50%+, cap rates 8–12%, DSCR ≥1.25x. Build in a realistic 2–3 year ramp to steady-state occupancy — don't assume day-one stabilized performance.
Development Process & Team Checklist
8 steps: due diligence → team assembly → site analysis → market research → business case → master planning → financial modeling → technical documentation. Required roles include a real-estate attorney with local zoning experience — named as the single most commonly skipped role.
Sources
Full structured detail, formulas, worked examples, and source citations: data/book_frameworks/rv_park_development.json and data/book_frameworks/market_analysis.json (economic base analysis, gap analysis, supply/demand absorption, Huff market-capture model, Tobin's Q build-vs-buy). See REAL_ESTATE_OPERATOR_FRAMEWORK.md for how these apply alongside the existing operator-lens rules.