Officials toast as Brightline’s West Palm station ‘tops out’
Ceremony marks limit of vertical construction of downtown facility.
WEST PALM BEACH — Construction of All Aboard Florida’s Brightline train station in downtown West Palm Beach reached a new milestone on Friday when company officials hoisted a bright yellow flag on top of the building to mark the completion of vertical construction at the site.
Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach commissioners, tourism leaders and construc tion workers were among the roughly 100 people who attended a “topping out” ceremony at the station site on Friday — an event that signifies the project has reached its top elevation and the “skeleton” of the building is complete.
Construction crews in November 2014 began demolition work at the site located just north of CityPlace between Datura and Evernia streets west of the Florida East Coast Railway tracks. The first of 18 large concrete pillars, which serve as the station’s architectural signature, was hoisted into place in March.
On Friday, construction crews had moved on to the exterior finishing work outside the building. Escalators that will carry passengers to the station’s waiting areas perched above the train The Palm Beach Post has closely followed the $2.5 billion highspeed rail line – and its potential effect on local communities – since its inception. Read The Post’s archive of All Aboard stories at myPalmBeachPost. tracks rested near the building, wrapped in plastic and ready to be installed.
“It was about two years ago that we were standing very nearby here with a bulldozer to take down a building that was standing at this site, in order to really mark the beginning of the journey that we are coming to the end of,” Brightline’s President Michael Reininger told the crowd gathered at Friday’s ceremony. “If you think about that, in just a short two-year time, we went from that to what is soon to become a glorious new station right here in the hub of downtown.”
Over t he next s i x months, Reininger said, the company plans to hire 133 employees to operate the station, work with customers and help with the company’s fleet of trains.
Construction on the first phase
A c hi l d i s dead af t er bei ng neglec ted by t wo Greenacres residents, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office.
A grand jury indicted Kristen Meyer, 42, and Alejandro Aleman, 39, in September on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and animal cruelty, court records show.
On Friday morning, Judge Caroline Shepherd ordered the pair be held without bail in the Palm Beach County Jail.
The child died April 1 after being deprived of food, water or medication, according to the indictment report.
It’s unclear whether the child who died is the same child linked to the aggravated child abuse charge.
A g r a nd j ur y a l s o i ndi c t e d the couple on an animal cruelty charge.
Eviction notices from the past few years indicate the couple has at least 10 children.
A spokeswoman for the Depart- ment of Children and Families said the agency is investigating and caring for the couple’s remaining children.
“As we continue to mourn the loss ..., we’re committed to protecting her siblings and helping them heal from this tragedy,” a statement released by the agency Friday said. “All of the other children remain in the care of the department.
“The department’s death investigation remains open at this time as we continue to coordinate with law enforcement’s criminal investigation.”