Solicitation
AFP - Lease of Vacant, Undeveloped Land in Exploration Park at Kennedy Space Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
AI summaryNASA Kennedy Space Center asks businesses for proposals to lease undeveloped land in Exploration Park at Kennedy Space Center, Florida: Parcel 3 (about 40 acres) and Parcel 4 (about 130 acres), in whole or in part. This is a land lease, not a contract to do work: the chosen business pays rent to NASA and builds on the land. The AFP offers a 20-year base term with two 5-year options. The response due date is November 6, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
The notice looks incomplete: Part of the Model Enhanced Use Lease (Attachment A) was attached but not fully read: the middle, from part of Article 7 to the end of Article 12, was left out, so insurance, default, termination and end-of-lease restoration terms were not checked. Read the full file on SAM.gov. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
NASA Kennedy Space Center asks businesses for proposals to lease undeveloped land in Exploration Park at Kennedy Space Center, Florida: Parcel 3 (about 40 acres) and Parcel 4 (about 130 acres), in whole or in part. This is a land lease, not a contract to do work: the chosen business pays rent to NASA and builds on the land. The AFP offers a 20-year base term with two 5-year options. The response due date is November 6, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern.
Who can bid (5)
- Be a United States Commercial Provider (as used in the Space Commerce Act) or a U.S. Person (as defined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations), and disclose any foreign owner of the entity or its financing
- Not be debarred, suspended, on a SAM.gov exclusion list, tied to the People's Republic of China government or Chinese-incorporated entities, indicted for a felony, or otherwise barred from Government contracts (this covers partners, officers and owners above 5%)
- Propose a use that is aerospace-related or space-related and supports NASA's objectives; no residential use and no transfer of land title
Show all 5Show fewer
- Show the financial ability to build and run the project, including an approved company capital investment proposal and proof of funding
- Show at least three examples each of space or aerospace technical experience and of facility construction experience
How to submit: Email a PDF to NASA Real Estate at hq-realestate@mail.nasa.gov; hard copies are not accepted. If the file is too large, email the same address for another method. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (12)
From the version posted Oct 20, 2026.
- Serious: Only U.S. commercial providers and U.S. persons may propose. Foreign ownership of the entity or its financing must be disclosed, and several categories of owners and partners are barred, so check your ownership and funding sources first.
- Serious: Only space or aerospace uses will be considered. A business with a general commercial, residential or non-space use will be rejected, and NASA decides in its sole discretion what fits.
- Serious: Heavy financial proof required. Financial statements for four years, an audit opinion or CPA statement, a chief financial officer assurance and approved capital are requested; this is hard for a small or young company.
Show all 12Show fewer
- Serious: Tenant pays for site work, access and utilities. Clearing, grading, stormwater, roads, parking, hardstands and extending utilities are all at the tenant's cost, and a traffic study may be needed for primary road connections.
- Serious: Contamination checks and land use controls near both parcels. NASA's answers report per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, long-lasting chemicals) in groundwater north of Parcel 3 and south of Parcel 4, plus land use controls that overlap part of Parcel 3 and affect drilling and dewatering; no sampling has been done inside either parcel.
- Worth checking: Pre-lease environmental steps. The selected business must sign a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement (RSAA) so NASA can prepare a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, and extra National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review must finish before the lease is signed.
- Worth checking: Questions were due Sep 25, 2026. Check the amendments for the agency's answers.
- Worth checking: Lease length differs between documents. The AFP offers a 20-year base term with two 5-year options, but the Model Lease template says the initial term is expected to be 10 years; ask NASA which governs.
- Worth checking: Rent rises 4% a year plus a Support Amount. Base Rent and the Support Amount (expected to be 17% of Base Rent) both rise 4% yearly, leases over 10 years get a mandatory rent re-appraisal every 10 years, and NASA says re-appraisal is forward looking only (no refund of past rent).
- Worth checking: Construction must start within 24 months. NASA can end the lease 30 days after notice if construction has not begun within 24 months of the Commencement Date, though it may give 24 more months for diligent design work.
- Worth checking: 30-page limit with strict format. NASA removes pages over the limit without reading them and will not evaluate a proposal that breaks the content or format rules.
- Minor: NASA need not select anyone. Proposal costs are not reimbursed and NASA may pick one, some or none of the proposals.
Read from the notice and 3 attachments. Show which files.
- AFP-KSC-ExParkParcels3and4-2026_FINAL.pdf (read)
- AFP-KSC-ExParkParcels3and4-2026_Attach-A-Model_EUL Final 9.4.26.pdf (read)
- QA for Posting.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Lease all or part of Parcel 3 (about 40 acres) and Parcel 4 (about 130 acres) for a space or aerospace related use that fits the Kennedy Space Center Master Plan
- Offer a first-year annual Base Rent per acre; the Government favors higher rent
- Prepare the site, build and maintain all facilities, and pay for parking, access roads and extending utilities, with NASA approval of improvements
- Pay a yearly Support Amount to NASA for shared services (security, grounds and common area maintenance), expected to be 17% of Base Rent; extra services need a separate agreement
- Sign a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement (RSAA) before the lease so NASA can run a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, and finish any extra National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review before signing
- Start construction within 24 months of the lease start date or NASA may end the lease
- Show economic impact: jobs (headcount), capital invested and value to the Space Coast economy
- Contract type
- Enhanced Use Lease of land (ground lease). The AFP says it is not a Federal Acquisition Regulation contract and uses no appropriated funds
- Period of performance
- 20-year base term with two 5-year options (AFP); the Model Lease template says an initial term of 10 years
- Place of performance
- Exploration Park, Kennedy Space Center (Merritt Island), Florida
- Estimated value
- Government's estimate of 2026 annual Base Rent per acre (informational; bids may fall outside it): Parcel 3 (39.66 acres) $26,593.38 to $30,905.82; Parcel 4 (126.5 acres) $17,648.33 to $20,510.23. A 4% yearly increase applies
- How they'll choose
- Proposals that pass an initial completeness check are rated and ranked on five factors listed from most to least important. NASA may select one, some or none.
- Offers due
- November 6, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email a PDF to NASA Real Estate at hq-realestate@mail.nasa.gov; hard copies are not accepted. If the file is too large, email the same address for another method
- Page limits
- Proposal: 30 total pages (title page and table of contents do not count, per NASA's answers; independent third-party financial documents do not count). NASA removes pages over the limit
What they'll judge offers on
- Annual Base Rent Proposed (higher rent preferred, within or outside NASA's low-high range)
- Financial Capability/Viability (rated High, Medium or Low level of confidence)
- Technical Approach: (a) Use of Land, (b) Plans for the Land (evaluated equally)
- Experience: (a) Technical Operations Experience, (b) Technical Improvements Experience (evaluated equally)
- Impact to KSC and local economy (rated High, Medium or Low)
What to include when you submit
- Send one searchable, unlocked PDF with edit permission enabled
- Format: Times New Roman 12 point, 8.5 by 11 inch pages, one-inch margins, single-spaced with double spacing between paragraphs
- Put "AFP-KSC-ExParkParcels3and4-2026" on every page and in the subject line of any question email
- Use five sections: Annual Base Rent Proposed, Financial Capability/Viability, Technical Approach, Experience, Impact to Space and Local Economy
- Name the parcels or parts you want and give your first-year rent for them
- Financial section: business case, company history and size, past work with the Government (with Unique Entity ID or CAGE code if available), rough order of magnitude (ROM) capital and operating budget by year, sources of capital with approved capital investment proposal and pre-approvals or letters of credit, and, as the AFP puts it, financial documentation that may include statements for the four most recent fiscal years
- Include the most recent audit opinion or CPA statement and a statement of assurance from your chief financial officer confirming the planned investment
- Describe how you will protect NASA from risk, such as liability insurance or other financial assurance
- Technical Approach: describe the land use (concept of operations, compatibility with NASA activities, footprint and safety buffers, power, water and sewer needs, security, safety and health plan, hazardous materials quantities and locations, environmental considerations) and plans for the land (schedule, phasing, critical path)
- Experience: describe at least three examples of space or aerospace technical experience and at least three examples of facility construction experience, including safety compliance
- Economic impact: report jobs as a headcount (full-time and part-time each count as one), capital to be invested with emphasis on local materials and workforce, and value added to the local economy
- Disclose whether the immediate or highest-level owner of your entity or its financing is a foreign person or entity, and the country
- Acknowledge the Model Lease terms in the proposal; any change you need had to be requested in writing during the Question-and-Answer period
- Mark any proprietary data clearly and keep it to what is needed
After award, you must have
- Begin construction of facilities within 24 months of the lease Commencement Date (NASA may allow 24 more months if design work is under way) From AFP-KSC-ExParkParcels3and4-2026_Attach-A-Model_EUL Final 9.4.26.pdf:
…construction of facilities on the Property within twenty-four (24) months of the…
Current contractor
No incumbent: NASA's answers describe this as a new Enhanced Use Lease opportunity.
Not in the notice text
- Part of the Model Enhanced Use Lease (Attachment A) was attached but not fully read: the middle, from part of Article 7 to the end of Article 12, was left out, so insurance, default, termination and end-of-lease restoration terms were not checked. Read the full file on SAM.gov.
- The first-year Support Amount is not set; NASA will give it once a proposer is identified.
- The Exhibit A maps and legal descriptions of the parcels are drawings; check the files on SAM.gov for boundaries.
- Which base term applies (20 years in the AFP or 10 years in the Model Lease template) is not settled in the documents.
- How the proposed first-year rent per acre is converted to a total for part of a parcel is not shown.
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email a PDF to NASA Real Estate at hq-realestate@mail.nasa.gov; hard copies are not accepted. If the file is too large, email the same address for another method. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 20, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- NASA Kennedy Space Center, FL
- Product/service code
- X1PC · Lease/Rental of Unimproved Real Property (LAND)
- Business type
- Real estate, rentals & leasing (FedReady's grouping, from product/service code X1PC)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 20, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 6, 2026
- Sep 4, 2026 · SolicitationDue Nov 6, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
This Announcement for Proposals (AFP) solicits proposals for the lease of land adjacent to Space Commerce Way (SCW) in Exploration Park at Kennedy Space Center, specifically SCW Parcel 3 and SCW Parcel 4 (the “Property”). The Property can be leased in whole or in part. The Property in Exhibit A-Graphical Descriptions, is located within the boundaries of KSC. SCW Parcel 3 is approximately 40 acres where access would stem off Space Commerce Way. The Property can accommodate multiple users performing concurrent, discrete activities. SCW Parcel 4 is approximately 130 acres where access could stem off State Road 3. The Property can accommodate multiple users performing concurrent, discrete activities. Upon grant of a leasehold, the Property will be available for lease in “as is”, “where is” condition with no warranties express or implied for a twenty-year (20-year) base term with two five-year (5-year) options. During the Question-and-Answer (Q&A) Period, proposers may request alternate base or renewal terms based on their business model for NASA’s consideration if the NASA-proposed term is insufficient. IMPORTANT DATES: OPEN PERIOD: SEPTEMBER 4, 2026 - NOVEMBER 6, 2026 COMMENT PERIOD: SEPTEMBER 4, 2026 - SEPTEMBER 25, 2026 UPDATES AS OF 10/20/2026: Q&A Responses uploaded
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