West Palm Beach identifies AAF station sites

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West Palm has started the urban planning process to get the AAF station location identified for services.

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2012/11/12/all-aboard-has-three-possible-station.html?page=all



Of the three locations All Aboard Florida has identified for possible passenger rail station locations in West Palm Beach, the southernmost site, just east of CityPlace, is closest to the greatest commercial density.
That cube-shaped property is also next to large condominiums whose residents could serve as a potential pool of riders for the line, which would travel between Miami and Orlando.
The vacant commercial site, at 419 Lakeview Ave., lists Alyce Caldwell and Harris Caroselli Trust as owners. Greenspoon Marder represents both.
All Aboard Florida has identified a rectangular site at Evernia Street and South Quadrille Boulevard as another possible location, according to an environmental impact study the company posted on its website.
“The site is attractive due to its proximity to City Hall, the county courthouse and county administration building, and because it would serve as a link between the urban retail corridor of Clematis Street and the mixed-use district of CityPlace and the CBD,” according to the study.
The property, which has industrial uses, has mixed ownership, with a company operating as WPB Investments controlling most of the south side. WPB Investments includes James Campbell from Orlando as a member.
The west side of the block, where the station would be located, currently under contract to an All Aboard Florida affiliate, according to the study.
The station would include some on-site parking for the retail, and surrounding parking facilities would be leveraged for ridership. The development of a station on the site would also “not preclude future commuter rail service” by the Florida Department of Transportation and others, according to the report.
The third possible location is on the northern edge of the city, between Third and Seventh streets. The All Aboard Florida report states that, while that site is furthest from the central business district, it is attractive because of its proximity to the circuit courthouse, county courthouse, county administration and City Hall. Development of the site, which is owned by the city, would also be in line with West Palm Beach’s desire to spur economic development in the northern part of downtown.
However, the project would block Northwest Seventh Street, which the city has targeted for circulation improvement. As a result, the need to block the street had a negative impact on the scenario analysis, according to the report.
In Broward, All Aboard Florida identified two possible station locations, with Las Olas Riverfront being the area with the greatest commercial density. And in Miami-Dade, All Aboard Florida plans to locate its station on the west of downtown Miami, where parent Florida East Coast Industries own large swaths of land.

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AAF purchased their station site in West Palm.



According to SFBJ via Curbed Miami:

Executing on their commitment to build a passenger train line through South Florida and up to Orlando, the Florida East Coast Railway 'All Aboard Florida' project has purchased land for a station in West Palm Beach, and is in negotiations for a Fort Lauderdale plot. The Palm Beach site is their preferred site the old Sewell Hardware Warehouse on Evernia Street, west of Quadrille Boulevard. We don't know which of the two alternative Fort Lauderdale locations they're negotiating for, but the owners of Las Olas Riverfront have admitted to talks with them, which they might not have done if those talks were still going on. No big loss. The FEC prefers the other option anyways, a few blocks to the north and on the other side of Broward Boulevard. [Palm Beach Post; SFBJ]

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Jose Gonzalez of FECI (EVP of Development) recently spoke to the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce on their AAF plans.
(per Palm Beach Post)



Key highlights in his speech:

- 40 entities have shown interest in competing for the BeachLine ROW
- They have bought 10 trainsets
- Currently hiring an operator
- CEO of Everglades Foundation says "its good for the environment"
- FECI has hired their own traffic management firm "to respect the streets"
- Service date pushed out to January 2015

Jose Gonzalez pitched plans for a Miami to Orlando express train to a group of prime customers Thursday morning, enticing them with competitive fares and consistent, hourly service.
Gonzalez, executive vice president of corporate development for Florida East Coast Industries, told Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches members that the All Aboard Florida line would deliver passengers from Miami to Orlando in three hours with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. A ticket will cost less than $100 one-way from Miami to Orlando, and less than that for shorter distances, he said.
“All Aboard Florida is a real company, it’s not just an idea,” Gonzalez said.
The Palm Beach Post reported this week that the company paid $2.5 million for downtown land on Quadrille Boulevard between Clematis and Fern streets. Gonzalez and another key FECI executive said this week that three downtown West Palm Beach locations are still being considered.
“We’re reaching out to a larger group,” Gonzalez said after addressing the chamber, “but we’re also having smaller conversations with the key stakeholders about each of the locations and and hearing the pros and cons from them.”
Chamber board Chairman Harvey Oyer telegraphed the sentiment of many local business people when he thanked the company for planning a passenger rail line without the use of public money.
“I think the next great transformative event in South Florida is All Aboard Florida,” said Oyer, a historian and lawyer who praised Henry Flagler’s original railroad for developing South Florida. FECI is the successor to Flagler’s railroad.
So far the biggest concerns are road closings necessary if the station is located on Quadrille, which appears to be the company’s favored location. The platform would cause road closures at Evernia and Datura streets.
REG Architects founder Rick Gonzalez Jr. asked if the platform â€" 800 feet long according to the company’s documents â€" could be shortened to avoid street closures.
“I’m just hoping we respect the streets and find a way to keep them connected, for cars and people,” he said after the presentation.
Jose Gonzalez said the company was hiring a traffic engineering firm to work on issues at all the stations. He also said the company is buying 10 trains and will be hiring an operator.
The timeline is high speed for the $1 billion project.
Launch is estimated for January 2015, ambitious for a project this size even if it already has been revised back from 2014. Being a private company with deep pockets and years of experience dealing with government transportation entities will gives FECI an advantage.
All Aboard Florida aims to have station locations nailed down by the end of the year, Gonzalez said Thursday. In that same time, it is producing a formal proposal for the central Florida connection from Cocoa to Orlando International Airport using the 528 corridor rights of way.
The Florida Department of Transportation will choose a proposal Dec. 18 and apparently 40 entities including All Aboard Florida were initially interested. FECI put the corridor in play when it requested FDOT consider a rail line there, but state regulations require the agency to issue a request for proposals.
The company also submitted an Environmental Assessment to the Federal Railroad Administration last month, which is open for public comment until Dec. 3. In addition to fulfilling environmental review for many federal processes, It will enable the company to apply for federal financing for railroad rehabilitation and improvement.
Eric Eikenberg, CEO of Everglades Foundation, said the group thinks the proposal is “good for the environment and Florida’s economy.” The route uses existing and historic rail beds, minimizing its environmental impact, while taking millions of vehicles off the road.
In the two decades various government planning agencies have looked at developing passenger rail on the FEC corridor, the railroad never cooperated as a partner, Gonzalez said. But after Fortress Investment Group bought the company in 2007 and repositioned it to more aggressively use its assets, FECI has embraced the idea. Though efforts failed, interest in high-speed rail in Central Florida demonstrated the business possibilities.
All Aboard Florida trains â€" and the company has narrowed down its options to two models of trains â€" would go slower through South Florida and downtown areas, but accelerate to as fast as 110 mph north of Palm Beach County, according to document filed with the Federal Railroad Administration.
Both company leaders and community business owners say downtown stations are key to the intermodality of the rail line.
“I think it’s critical that all three stations be right in the middle of downtown,” Rick Gonzalez Jr. said.
Jose Gonzalez told chamber members the railway, and especially its stations, will be a “catalyst” for development.
“Everything west of the tracks except CityPlace is underutilized,” he said.
Also, he said the railway will compliment, not compete with, other transportation systems, such as Tri-Rail and Palm Beach International Airport. It clearly links Orlando International Airport with South Florida and its cruise ports.