Martin County - Thursday November 9, 2023: Stuart has now formally entered the competition with Fort Pierce for a Brightline train station. Martin County Commissioners on Tuesday voted unanimously to submit a proposal for two potential station sites in Stuart to Brightline.
In response to Brightline's October 26th request for proposal, Assistant Martin County Administrator George Stokus went before the County Commission seeking approval for up to $125-thousand dollars to cover the cost of a comprehensive proposal, including conceptual drawings, for two potential train station sites in Stuart to be submitted Brightline.
“Currently we are anticipating to propose the courthouse parking lot located on Flagler Drive that is across the street from the City of Stuart baseball field as well as our courthouse. And the second location would be the Martin County Fairgrounds.”
The joint Martin County-Stuart proposal will be in competition with the Fort Pierce bid for the Brightline station. However the Martin County Commissioners expressed confidence that they have the advantage.
“There are already parking spaces in downtown Stuart so that money doesn’t need to be re-spent," said Commissioner Sarah Heard. "I think we can make a really compelling case for locating the station here. And I also think that, on the Treasure Coast, that Martin County residents would be the most likely to ride the train.”
“I do understand that our friendly neighbors are going to be as competitive to get it to build their revitalization of some of their downtown areas," said Commission Chairman Edward Ciampi. "We already have that. So, we wouldn’t be relying on a Brightline station to revive an area, we (are) already thriving.”
All five-commissioners approved the request for funding in support of the bid. "Let our friends at Brightline know they got a unanimous decision," said Ciampi.
The joint Martin County-Stuart proposal must be submitted to Brightline by December 22.