Martin County Commissioner Moves to Kill Downtown Stuart Brightline Station Plan

Martin County Commissioner Ed Campy publicly broke with the downtown Stuart Brightline station plan Tuesday, declaring the $87 million project dead on arrival and directing staff to explore moving the station to county-owned fairgrounds property — a policy reversal that could reshape the future of passenger rail on the Treasure Coast.

Campy, speaking during commissioner comments at Tuesday's Board of County Commissioners meeting, said the project that emerged from years of negotiation bears little resemblance to what was originally proposed.

"The version that exists today in Stuart at 87 million or thereabouts, I don't think most people are interested in that. I'm not," Campy said.

The cost escalation is stark. The station was originally projected at approximately $30 million. The current estimate has nearly tripled to $87 million — a figure Campy said reflects a fundamentally different project than what county leaders agreed to pursue.

Campy also raised a concern that has not been widely aired publicly: he warned the downtown station's location near the courthouse could jeopardize federal grant funding for replacing the century-old St. Lucie River Bridge. Losing that funding would be a separate and potentially larger blow to the region's infrastructure.

He proposed relocating the station to the county's 11-acre fairgrounds on Dixie Highway. The Martin County Fair has been in separate negotiations to move its operations to western Martin County after 65 years at the current site, which would free the Dixie Highway parcel for redevelopment. Campy argued the fairgrounds site would eliminate the parking shortfalls, neighborhood disruption, and federal grant conflicts that have dogged the downtown proposal.

Campy added that most of the city and Brightline officials who negotiated the original agreement are no longer in their positions, further weakening institutional continuity for the project.

The commission did not vote on Campy's proposal Tuesday, but the board's other voices reflected a fractured consensus. Commissioner Sarah Heard said the county should continue conversations, noting the agreement includes a withdrawal deadline of June 30, 2027. Commissioner Jennifer Fielding went further than Campy, calling Brightline "a losing proposition" given the company's financial troubles and arguing county resources should be directed elsewhere.

Brightline had not responded to a request for comment as of publication time. Downtown Stuart business owners, who stand to lose a potential economic anchor if the station moves, were not reached before deadline. The TC Sentinel is seeking Brightline's current ridership projections for the Treasure Coast corridor and the original cost-sharing terms of the county's agreement.

The full commission meeting also addressed a $630,900 water main project for the Lake Grove community, where 64 properties will each pay approximately $9,858 for connection to the county water system, with construction expected in August.

Homelessness also dominated public comment, as residents pointed out Martin County lacks a shelter despite a new state camping ban requiring counties to provide one before enforcing camping prohibitions. Separately, multiple speakers raised alarms about a dredging project near Bathtub Beach, citing reports of dead fish and sand blanketing coral reefs.

This article was generated with AI assistance using publicly available information. It was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication. TC Sentinel uses AI writing tools in accordance with FTC guidelines.