Brightline coming to Boca by ’21
Residents who wanted station call it a ‘game-changer’
BOCA RATON – Those who live between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale say it all the time: They’d like to take Brightline’s high-speed express train down to Miami and someday up to Orlando, but they either have to drive miles north to go south, or halfway to their destination just to board the train.
By 2021, they’ll be able to hop on the train in Boca Raton. Many have said it’s a “game-changer” that will connect the city to a major transportation network throughout South — and eventually Central — Florida.
“I think this is bigger than winning the lottery,” said Jack McWalter, a Boca Raton resident who told Boca’s council members the new station is a great idea, so long as it’s done responsibly.
The Boca City Council unanimously approved the new station Tuesday night. The station will be built next door to the city’s downtown library, a few blocks west of Mizner Park.
Residents and particularly library patrons won’t see much movement for the next few months while officials work out plans for the station and its construction.
Once Brightline gets the green light to put shovels in the ground, they say they’ll have an operational train station within 10 months.
Brightline, currently re-branding as Virgin Trains USA, plans to expand the line to Orlando International Airport by 2022 with another stop in the Treasure Coast within five years. It’s also planning a station near Disney World, about 20 miles west of the airport.
As president of the Junior League of Boca Raton, Cristy Stewart-Harfmann helps oversee
An artist’s illustration shows the approximate location of the new Brightline station coming to Boca Raton’s downtown.
Boca’s downtown community garden, which will be torn up to make way for the new station. She said the plot of land was reserved for a train station even when the garden was planted a decade ago.
“As a Boca resident, and a mom, I’m super excited about the ability to get on a train and go to Fort Lauderdale, go to Miami, and one day, go to Disney,” she said.
As for the garden? Stewart-Harfmann said the Junior League is excited for a “bigger, better” garden on Brightline’s dollar.
Residents who live in the neighborhood next door, Library Commons, weren’t as easily-swayed.
Charles Bernardini, who said he lives on the neighborhood’s southern perimeter, called the idea a “folly” and said it was already a done deal with the Council.
“Brightline is not interested in providing transportation to the city of Boca Raton,” Bernardini said. “That is a mere segue to use this first refusal of the land, then they’re going to build a high-rise development. They’re interested in using your tax dollars to further their revenue interests.”
Indian River County Attorney Dylan Reingold came to Boca’s council meeting to oppose the deal. He quoted testimony in a federal lawsuit Indian River currently has against Brightline, and told council members Brightline can’t run without public money. “It’s a way to sink public money into a private enterprise,” he said.
City staff answered multiple questions about taxes and assured residents there would be no tax increase to pay for the project. The $12.1 million to build the public parking garage comes from reserves, they said.
“What is happening here is just mind-boggling for people like me,” said Nora Greenberg, who helped grow the community garden. Greenberg said she took Tri-Rail up to work at the Port of Palm Beach for 22 years, and it was her time to read the newspaper. “Brightline is for tourism. That is not public transportation.”
Patrick Goddard, president of Brightline, emphasized the link between Central Florida’s theme parks and South Florida’s business and cultural hubs. He said Brightline only connects 67 miles of South Florida, but will eventually fuse 235 miles between Miami and Orlando. It could connect to Tampa someday.
“We have extremely high hopes and a ton of optimism for where this is headed,” he said. “That connectivity in Central Florida will be a gamechanger for this market.”