When word spread last week that Stuart had been selected to be the next site for a new Brightline train station, everyone seemed to be talking about it — except for Brightline.
But now, the Miami-based high speed rail company has broken its silence with an announcement that it plans to conduct a ceremony Monday morning in Stuart to outline its plan to build a station there.
The location for the proposed station is 500 Southeast Flagler Ave. in the city’s downtown near the Martin County Courthouse. It was jointly proposed by the city and county.
Last October, Brightline asked for site proposals from private and public landowners that control property along the the Florida East Coast Railway corridor in St. Lucie and Martin counties, which is now part of Brightline’s 170-mile extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando International Airport. The latter station opened last September.
Stuart, a city of 18,500 people just south of the St. Lucie River, lobbied hard against several other Treasure Coast cities, including Fort Pierce, which submitted two proposals. When the first Brightline train made its inaugural run from South to Central Florida, local demonstrators appeared at rail crossings with welcoming banners as the train passed through town.
U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, (R-21st District), Stuart Mayor Becky Bruner, Martin County Chairman Harold Jenkins and Brian Kronberg, senior vice president of construction and development at Brightline, are among those scheduled to attend the ceremony Monday, according to a company statement.
Besides Orlando and downtown West Palm Beach, the train line also operates stations at Boca Raton, downtown Fort Lauderdale, Aventura and downtown Miami.
