A Naples firm wants to turn a vehicle proving ground built into the Florida Everglades during the 1980s into an “iconic” luxury-car lover exclusive community.

“A sanctuary shaped by the spirit of motorsports, Hyper Club is where world-class driving, elevated hospitality, and an exclusive community seamlessly converge,” is among the only messaging on the Hyper Club’s spartan placeholding website. “Iconic at every turn, Hyper Club signals the arrival of something truly unprecedented coming to Naples, Florida.”

Built in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the test tracks were used by some combination of Ford, Chrysler, and Harley-Davidson for more than 30 years.

Published reports denoted the site's changes, as this 2018 article from Spotlight News Magazine by reporter Don Manley outlined: "The facility was built in 1985 by the Ford Motor Company on land leased from the Barron Collier Company. Ford was the sole presence at the facility until 2000, when Harley-Davidson began leasing it, before purchasing the proving grounds in 2002 from Barron Collier. Ironically, Ford then began leasing the facility from Harley- Davidson, before ending its participation in 2004. Chrysler then stepped in and began conducting tests there."

The track sits in a region that is now an environmental concern due to drainage and hydrology alterations first by the development of the proving grounds, then the drainage canals for the Golden Gate Estates, followed by the path cut by Interstate 75 in 1990.

The changes to the landscape have accelerated drainage from wetlands, reduced groundwater recharge, shortened wetland hydroperiods, and increased wildfire and flooding risks in Lucky Lake Strand, Stumpy Strand, the Merritt Canal, and the neighboring Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.

The developers of the luxury motorsports community told the Naples Daily News they pledge to be conscious stewards of the environment and thoughtful neighbors.

Hydrological changes are among the top concerns being mentioned by environmental nonprofits opposed to the Hyper Club development.

It's adjacent to the "Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, a 26,000-acre property that was conserved in 1989 with the express purpose of protecting habitat for the endangered Florida panther — and the hundreds of plants and animals that also reside on these lands,” the Conservancy of Southwest Florida wrote in a letter to the Army Corps, one of the agencies that will need to approve the development. "The project site is also directly upstream of the Picayune Strand Everglades restoration project, a 55,000-acre conservation area that was recently deemed complete after ongoing restoration efforts that spanned decades."

“The site includes, and is neighboring to, wetlands, water resources, and listed species habitats that are critical for Southwest Florida’s natural environment, public lands, and hydrology. In short, the project site is simply not appropriate for more development and intensification, given its adjacency to some of our region’s most treasured public lands. The project is, therefore, not in the public interest.”

One of the major players among Southwest Florida's environmental nonprofits, the conservancy said a better use of the former test track's more than 530 acres would be to tack it on to the panther refuge.

In it's lengthy opposition statement, the conservancy points out the acreage is upstream of the Picayune Strand, a 55,000-acre conservation area recently completed after efforts that spanned decades and designed, in part, to get water flowing south as part of the Everglades Restoration.

Ford used the proving grounds for warm-weather performance, handling, tire, and prototype development on popular vehicles such as the Explorer and Escape in the late 1990s.

Harley-Davidson used the test tracks for motorcycle development, including the XR1200. Cycle World magazine described testing in the early 2000s at the “secret 530-acre Florida Evaluation Center” and emphasized its features including a 1.2-mile handling course, two-mile straightaway, rough roads, potholes, and degraded surfaces.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles used the tracks from 2014 to 2021 for warm-weather handling work, measuring aerodynamic drag, rolling resistance, and related vehicle performances.

In 2023, the proving grounds were for sale.

The listing described two metal buildings totaling 40,607 square feet, secure vehicle storage, fuel facilities, a hazardous-material accumulation area, a gatehouse, wetlands, a 2.1-mile straightaway, a 1.2-mile handling course, and additional rough-road testing areas.

The Marco Eagle reported a Delaware-based limited liability company purchased the site for $10 million in 2024, and Collier County's Growth Management Community Development portal lists the reborn pricing grounds as a racing community with up to 100 residences and up to 20 “accommodations.”

Representatives for the Hyper Club did nothing wrong when they met with Collier County staff on June 30 for a pre-application meeting, but the revelation appears to have kick-started the growing opposition to the luxury car community and its Hyper Club Evaluation Center, LLC.

The South Florida Wildlands Association has started a petition drive to derail the Hyper Club, and have a link on their Facebook page directly to the Army Corps public comment page on it. One of many things they note online is how the land to the east of the test track, which includes the panther refuge, is undisturbed by prior development.

“What stands out immediately is how pristine the landscape is beyond the test track itself — and how undeveloped it remains,” the wildlands association wrote. “This area contains some of the most important remaining panther habitat in the state.”

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

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