Brightline Stuart costs jump
Projected costs for the proposed Brightline station in Stuart, Florida have risen from about $60 million to roughly $87 million, an increase of roughly 45 percent, according to local zoning and business reporting. (The report gave both the earlier estimate and the new projected cost.) (techbullion.com)
The proposed Brightline station in Stuart now carries an $87.15 million price tag, up from $60 million a year earlier. (cbs12.com) Martin County and Brightline are seeking $69.3 million from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Federal-State Partnership program, with the county covering $17.87 million through $15 million in bond financing and $2.87 million in land value. (cbs12.com) County officials now describe the full project as more than a station building: the application includes rail and safety work, while the station itself is estimated at about $60 million. Assistant County Administrator George Stokus told WPTV the request also includes about $8 million for Dixie Highway and south county corridor signalization. (wptv.com) The project is still not under construction. Martin County says funding and planning steps must be completed before lease agreements and construction begin, even though the county and Brightline have an agreement that a Treasure Coast station would be built. (martin.fl.us) That leaves Stuart in a second round of federal grant chasing after the first bid failed. In September 2025, the Federal Railroad Administration did not award Martin County the $45 million it had sought when the project was still estimated at $60 million. (cbs12.com) Brightline first picked downtown Stuart and Martin County for its Treasure Coast stop on March 4, 2024, after reviewing five proposals from Martin and St. Lucie counties along the Florida East Coast Railway corridor. (gobrightline.com) The politics shifted six months later. On September 9, 2024, the Stuart City Commission voted 3-2 to revoke its ground lease and cancel its agreement with Martin County after debate over the station’s public cost. (wqcs.org) Martin County kept the plan alive by moving the project onto county-owned land at 500 Southeast Flagler Avenue, and the county says it would own the land while Brightline would lease it through a public-purpose arrangement. (martin.fl.us) Stuart Mayor Christopher Collins has continued to oppose the financing approach. He told WPTV he believes Brightline should pay for half of its own station and said he would rather see money go to replacing the nearly 100-year-old St. Lucie River Railroad bridge. (wptv.com) County officials are still selling the station as a broader rail-safety package, but the next real test is federal: without outside funding, the Treasure Coast stop remains a plan on paper. (martin.fl.us)
