Passenger Trains > FL: BrightLine (real estate) strikes gold...

The Sun-Sentinel has an article about the surge in real estate development just northeast and northwest of the BrightLine Fort Lauderdale station. In the past two or three years, the area has built out with a new office building and parking garage (both owned by Fortress), and a huge surge of new condo and office space in the formerly seedy area on both sides of the tracks.  The FAT arts village, which is a few blocks away, is awash in development.  High end, high rent, space.

This is a big area, with several new clubs, brew pubs, rental and condo buildings, etc. Sistrunk Market and concert venue.  The  American Icon Brewery and one of Florida's best boutique wine stores are in the zone, and a faltering Sears Village is also included in the district.Fortress apparently owns or has an interest in several lots and older buildings.

It's unlikely this huge expanse would be coming together so quickly without the railroad. Now, if they can only install a new and adequate sewer system for all this growth.  Fort Lauderdale is well known for approving huge projects and hooking them into a 1950s vintage sewer system.  With predictable results...

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-et-fat-village-fort-lauderdale-makeover-20200219-wluktqf3pnfedktoxw7zdsllzy-story.html#nt=oft-Double%20Chain~Flex%20Feature~homepage-top-heads~home-heads-13~~1~yes-art~curated~curatedpage

 

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> The Sun-Sentinel has an article about the surge in
> real estate development just northeast and
> northwest of the BrightLine Fort Lauderdale
> station. In the past two or three years, the area
> has built out with a new office building and
> parking garage (both owned by Fortress), and a
> huge surge of new condo and office space in the
> formerly seedy area on both sides of the tracks. 
> The FAT arts village, which is a few blocks away,
> is awash in development.  High end, high rent,
> space.
>
> This is a big area, with several new clubs, brew
> pubs, rental and condo buildings, etc. Sistrunk
> Market and concert venue.  The  American Icon
> Brewery and one of Florida's best boutique wine
> stores are in the zone, and a faltering Sears
> Village is also included in the district.Fortress
> apparently owns or has an interest in several lots
> and older buildings.
>
> It's unlikely this huge expanse would be coming
> together so quickly without the railroad. Now, if
> they can only install a new and adequate sewer
> system for all this growth.  Fort Lauderdale is
> well known for approving huge projects and hooking
> them into a 1950s vintage sewer system.  With
> predictable results...
>
> https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-la
> uderdale/fl-et-fat-village-fort-lauderdale-makeove
> r-20200219-wluktqf3pnfedktoxw7zdsllzy-story.html#n
> t=oft-Double%20Chain~Flex%20Feature~homepage-top-h
> eads~home-heads-13~~1~yes-art~curated~curatedpage
>
>  

There was a message from the mayor today regarding the new sewer main they're about to start installing to replace the one that's been failing. There's a whole bunch of 48-inch pipe segments being staged at the entrance to Holiday Park on Federal if you want to have a look-see.

I have to say that if the Sun-Sentinel is including Searstown (not "Sears Village") in the area they consider within Brightline's influence zone, then they're casting a pretty wide net. Yes, it's adjacent to the tracks but still more than a mile away.. and if all these new buildings along the Federal Highway corridor were due to the proximity of the station, then why has the development not propagated in all directions along the other major corridors? I think proximity is not necessarily causality.

With all the talk about homeless overwhelming stations in CA & NY, does Brightline have a big security force to keep such people out of their stations?

The only public part of the station is a small street level ticket office - several kiosks and a clerk. No seating, no amenities. To get past that area you must have a ticket.

Michael

MEKoch Wrote:
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> With all the talk about homeless overwhelming
> stations in CA & NY, does Brightline have a big
> security force to keep such people out of their
> stations?