FORT PIERCE, Fla. — At least three locations — including competing proposals in Fort Pierce — have applied to become home of Brightline’s planned intermediate “Treasure Coast” station on its route between West Palm Beach and Orlando, the TC Palm newspaper reports.
Brightline announced in October that it was accepting proposals for a new station in St. Lucie or Martin counties [see “Brightline launches process to add station …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 26, 2023]. Those proposals were due on Friday, Dec. 22. The company’s request for proposals said it anticipated selecting a station site in the first quarter of 2024, with permitting in 2025, construction beginning in 2026, and service starting in 2028.
A proposal from Stuart, Fla., calls for a $60 million downtown station, the TC Palm reports. The city, Martin County, and Brightline would share the cost, with the city and county contributing $45 million. The county would donate the site to the city, which would then lease it to Brigthline at $1 a year for 80 years. The city and county have begun seeking state and federal funding to offset the cost.
The 2.4-acre site, currently used as a parking lot, would be used for an approximately 9,000-square-foot station and a parking structure with 200 to 450 spaces.
The proposals in Fort Pierce come from the city and from a private developer, the newspaper reports.
The city’s proposal calls for a station on 2.37 acres on South Depot Drive — near the past site of a passenger station. It calls for the city to borrow $20 million to finance the project, which would include adding two floors to an existing parking garage. A city presentation is available here.
Also filing a proposal was Audubon Development, which is behind a $155 million downtown mixed-used project, Kings Landing. Audubon would build the station and charge Brightline $1 a year for its use, Audubon CEO Dale Matteson told the TC Palm; he declined to say state the cost to build the facility, which would also include a museum, a culinary school, 100 luxury apartments, and 465 parking spaces.
Brightline declined to say how many station proposals it had received by Friday’s deadline, the paper said.
Indian River spent 3.8 million fighting Brightline, no application for a station.
Martin County spent 4.1 million fighting bright line before making an agreement with bright line in 2018, application for a station in Stuart.
St Lucie did not join in the lawsuits against Brightline, Two applications for Fort Pierce. one private and one city.
Would have been less costly if these groups would have got on board (no pun intended) years prior.
Yes; the NIMBY’s were loud and annoying. They should have to walk to the nearest other station, or raise enough money to build their own.
Lacking in a knowledge of Florida geography, are either of these cities in counties that spent so much money fighting Brightline?
Yes. Both are.