On Friday, Boca Raton received a letter from Virgin Trains USA (VTUSA)—better known as Brightline—detailing the company’s proposal for a station in Boca Raton just east of the downtown library.
Virgin Trains would finance and build the station, manage construction of a parking garage and replace any library parking spaces that the project displaces. The company also would “work with the city to relocate the library’s community garden and study the possibility of providing the city with community meeting space.”
In return, Virgin Trains wants the city to donate the land and pay for the garage. The company also wants to city to finance a pedestrian bridge over Dixie Highway that would connect the station to the main part of downtown.
In addition, Virgin Trains wants the city to pay for a shuttle service between the station and other downtown locations. And VTUSA wants city cooperation to “rezone the site as necessary to accommodate…various uses.” Read that to mean approval of residential and other development that would go with the station.
Company representatives will be at Monday’s city council workshop to discuss the proposal. I will have an update after the meeting.
