By Jonathan Bym
Staff Writer
It was the week before a big regulatory milestone for the Uwharrie Motorsports Park and Resort when the project’s leaders got some of the worst news possible: A key investor was backing out for health reasons.
CEO Kristi Maluchnik and COO James Forte were in Daytona for the Rolex 24-hour race when they heard the staggering news for the planned $140 million motorsports park in northern Moore.
“So we found that out about a week before Feb. 1,” Forte said, “and we started raising capital again from scratch.”
The land designated for the Uwharrie Motorsports Park and Resort was rezoned by Moore County’s Board of Commissioners last November for the track, car condos and other garage spaces. But before the project could really move forward, developers needed to have a window within which someone could appeal the Board of Commissioners’ rezoning.
“So we had to stay quiet until Feb. 1,” Forte said. “ We wanted to be respectful to that process, just like we had been all the way up to that point through the rezoning.”
The leadership of Autoport, the developer of the motorsports park, is now looking for other funding sources at the same time it’s moving forward with marketing for membership. So far, the funding shortfall has not changed the scope of the project.
“ We haven’t changed anything in terms of our site plan or our timeline. The only thing that’s changed is how it’s getting funded,” Forte said. “ We wanted this to be a self-funded project. So we’ve had to go back to the well of investors so that we can continue to uphold that. That’s one of the core values of this project, that we wanted to self-fund this for the community.”
Forte said that groundbreaking is expected for this fall, with the final steps before construction being dependent on investment from members. Legal agreements from membership applicants were sent out last week, Forte said.
“ It shouldn’t be too much longer into next year before we’re able to move dirt,” Forte said. “ The rate at which we’re able to move forward and the nature of the parts and pieces of the project that we’re able to hit start on will depend on how much money comes in the door.”
Memberships will be capped, but that threshold has not been reached, the developers said. Recently, a new tier was opened up after a large number of founding membership applications were received. The founding membership, which the motorsports park capped at 50, offered priority condo selection and perpetual lifetime membership. Forte said that 65 applications were submitted for that membership level.
The new tier, elite membership, was opened with 10 available slots, and 1 percent equity in the project offered for every $1 million paid into the membership.
“ We put in another tier to basically incentivize members to do exactly what they’ve come and asked us to do for themselves,” Forte said. “So they want a small equity piece in the project.”
Membership pledges currently account for $50 million, which would be enough for construction to begin. The nearly $140 million construction bill for the entire project breaks down to approximately $70 million for the car condos and membership buildout, and the other half going to the site prep and construction of the track and other public facilities.
“ We’re looking to raise up to an additional 30 million, and maybe maybe as little as $10 (million) so this whole project can advance,” Forte said. “It’s a three-year build-out, so money is going to come in stages because we’re self-funding.”
Forte estimates that seeking and pursuing funding from other income sources is a six- to nine-month process, and plans are in the works for a partnership with high-level athletes through the Players Capital Group.
The project is expected to bring over 240 total jobs, 40 of them full-time, and an annual economic impact of nearly $2 million to the local community. It will house 165 car condos around the 3-mile road course for cars, a separate kart track and a clubhouse with multiple restaurants.
“ A lot of the conversations we’ve had about potential partners are folks who want to bring their business onto the property to help build the place, and want to be a member of the track as well,” Forte said.
Along with building the motorsports park, Autoport developers want to continue building a relationship with Moore County, Forte said.
“ How do you establish yourself within a community? Well, there’s some basic things like being honest and full of integrity, doing what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it, and when that doesn’t happen, having a clear explanation,” Forte said. “Long-term capital intensive projects, you have to be prepared for things to go sideways or for plans to change a little bit. But really, the most important piece here is spending time with people.”
Contact Jonathan Bym at (910) 693-2470 or jonathan@thepilot.com.
