Martin County, Stuart focus on downtown site for Brightline station; fairgrounds is dropped
MARTIN COUNTY — Martin County will offer Brightline just one location for a railroad station here, not two. County commissioners decided Tuesday that land near the county courthouse is their pick. The county fairgrounds is off the list.
"We’re all in on this site,” said County Administrator Don Donaldson of the location in downtown Stuart. The city of Stuart will partner in the application.
The fairgrounds site got the ax for at least two reasons. The county doesn't have complete control of the property because it leases the fairgrounds and because the of the courthouse site's proximity to downtown.
Potential cost revealed
The site which the county and city will offer to Brightline, is on Southeast Flagler Avenue at Southeast Stypmann Boulevard. Buyilding a railroad station there would cost $40 million to $60 million, said Deputy County Administrator George Stokus.
Martin County and Brightline would share the cost of the station and track work while Stuart would pay for the parking garage. The county would donate the land.
While Brightline is requiring parking for 200 cars, which would cost about $8 million, plans are for a 451-space garage, costing about $18. City officials have said they may borrow money for that pierce of the project.
But both Stuart and Martin County may be on the hook for only about $5 million each if they receive grants Stokus expects them to get.
Billions recently became available from the federal government to help pay for projects such as the proposed station, Stokus added.
Two commissioners cautious
Stuart city commissioners on Monday approved the agreement with the county outlining the responsibilities of each should Brightline choose the downtown Stuart location.
While county commissioners Tuesday approved it unanimously, Stuart commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the agreement, with Christopher Collins dissenting. Collins questioned how much a station would cost residents. No one had that answer Monday.
Still, County Commissioner Sarah Heard was similarly cautious.
"I agree with this in principle," Heard said, but she wanted to be able get out of the agreement if the city or county doesn't get the grant money it expects.
Paying $3 million toward the project would be acceptable, she said, but $10 million would be too much.
“At any point there would abilities to, I guess, pull the ejection switch based on the estimated cost or based on changes and conditions that our legal staff would negotiate for us,” Stokus replied.
Agreement with Martin County, expected opening
A 2018 lawsuit settlement between Martin County and Brightline requires Brightline to build a station in Martin or St. Lucie county with five years of launching service between West Palm Beach and Orlando. That service began Sept. 22.
Stuart agrees to move forward with county in bid for Brightline station downtown
Where will Brightline's local station be? That really comes down to one key consideration.
Deadline for governments and private landowners to formally offer Brightline station sites is Dec. 22.
Brightline may choose a site or a short list of potential sites in the first quarter of next year. Construction is expected to begin in 2026 and last 18 months. Brightline could open the station in the first quarter of 2028.
Keith Burbank is TCPalm's watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Martin County, Stuart to file joint application for Brightline station
