Camp Margaritaville opened in Auburndale, an hour southwest of Orlando, in early 2022. The resort community, shown here, includes 326 RV sites, 75 cabana cabins, two pools, a 147-foot water slide, a firepit, a Tiki Bar, an entertainment stage, putting golf course, a playground, dog parks, a pet spa and more. (Handout courtesy of Margaritaville)
Start searching for that long-lost shaker of salt: Plans are in motion to bring a Camp Margaritaville to Volusia County, Fla., according to Growth Spotter.
Randy Knapp, the developer who successfully delivered a Camp Margaritaville RV Resort to Polk County’s Auburndale in 2022, told GrowthSpotter that he’s working to open a second Jimmy Buffett-themed luxury resort campground in Central Florida along the banks of the St. Johns River in Astor, near the Lake County line.
These plans have been in the works since before the singer died on Sept. 1 of a rare form of skin cancer at his home in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
An entity affiliated with Knapp purchased the proposed site in 2020 for $3.5 million. Located north of State Road 40 and just south of Lake George, the land covers 88 acres and was formerly home to a once-thriving mobile home park and marina known as Jungle Den that had become rundown beyond repair.
Before Knapp acquired the property, the previous owners got approval from the Volusia County Council in November 2020 to rezone the parcels from a commercial marina, mobile home park and rural agriculture zoning to planned unit development.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported at the time that the intent was to renovate and revitalize the flood-prone, dilapidated resort into an RV park as part of a $30 million investment.
