TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Barely seven weeks after Florida dismantled its embattled Everglades detention camp, the agency overseeing the state's troopers is already sounding out the construction industry about a fresh round of smaller holding sites, according to a procurement notice first surfaced by The Space Coast Rocket.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles — parent agency to the Highway Patrol — uploaded a formal request for information, numbered FLHSMV-RFI-027-27, to the state's vendor marketplace on Aug. 3, giving contractors until 2 p.m. on Aug. 10 to respond. Officials describe the posting as pure fact-finding, carrying no obligation to build anything. Yet the specifications read like an actual blueprint: a network of contractor-run facilities capped at roughly 50 adult detainees apiece, operating continuously under federal supervision, according to Central Florida Public Media. Planners want a minimum of five locations south of the Interstate 4 corridor, plus recommendations on economical building materials, hardened doors, perimeter security fencing, and dedicated workspace for federal case personnel.
