Volusia County Expands Highbridge Park with Riverfront Acquisition

Posted On: July 30, 2026

The Volusia County Council has approved the acquisition of a 14-acre riverfront parcel at 4310 John Anderson Drive in Ormond Beach, expanding Highbridge Park and securing a key gateway along the Halifax River corridor.

Volusia County funded the purchase through countywide Park Impact Fees, an approach in which growth helps pay for the park capacity that growth demands.

The acquisition addresses one of the area's most persistent challenges: parking at the one-acre Highbridge Park, one of the county's most popular destinations, where demand routinely outstrips available space. With public road frontage and river access, the new parcel creates room to expand parking and improve public access, ease chronic congestion, and protect ecological resources along this stretch of the river.

The parcel, now part of a 6,000-acre protected land corridor, also advances a conservation vision the State of Florida has already outlined. It lies within the optimum boundary of North Peninsula State Park. By securing the property, Volusia County links county and state conservation lands into a more connected whole, building on prior public investment and laying the groundwork for continued state-county partnership.

The property's environmental value is significant. It holds frontage on the Halifax River, sits within the 100-year floodplain, and includes coastal and estuarine habitat identified as vulnerable to sea-level rise in the coming decades. Protecting it represents a long-term investment in flood resilience, water quality, and shoreline health while supporting habitat for native wildlife, including state and federally listed species.