Private investors are checking out the former Daytona Beach police station site

DAYTONA BEACH — For nearly 15 years, city officials have been trying to find a new use for the Nova Road property that for more than 50 years was the headquarters of the Daytona Beach Police Department.

Repeated attempts to find a private developer for the now-vacant site on the northeast corner of Nova and Orange Avenue have failed, but a new effort is hoped to help.

At their meeting Wednesday night, city commissioners approved a brownfield site rehabilitation agreement between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the city for the former police station property at 990 Orange Ave.

The DEP database lists the site as having had a 10,000-gallon underground gasoline storage tank that was installed in 1973. In July 1993, the city filed a Discharge Reporting Form for a spill that occurred on the property. Later that year the underground tank was removed by Universal Engineering Sciences.

Since a brownfield site rehabilitation agreement is being established, about 50% of the remediation cost can be recovered in the form of tax credits, according to a city memo. The tax credits can be sold on the open market to recoup about 90 cents on the dollar of the remediation costs.

The city is currently anticipated to spend around $153,000 on remediation.

Site remediation has already started, and there's an approved remedial action plan. Groundwater sampling will be done every few months, and if the results are below DEP cleanup target levels, the city will then pursue a Site Rehabilitation Completion Order from the DEP.

The old police station was built around 1963, and it expanded with additions in later years. Nonetheless, it eventually became too small and outdated for a growing city, and police moved into their current headquarters building at 129 Valor Blvd. in 2009.

The former headquarters was demolished in 2018 after a lengthy asbestos remediation process.

City officials believe the old police station property a little south of International Speedway Boulevard is in a key location for redevelopment. The city's Redevelopment Department has been trying to get private investment in the property for years and has issued a request for proposals for the sale of the 1.86-acre parcel.

The city is currently negotiating with Midtown Community Development Corporation and NUJAK Companies Inc. to acquire and develop the property.

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Private investors are checking out the former Daytona Beach police station site