SunRail Gets Added Boost

SunRail, Central Florida’s first commuter rail line, received an added boost Monday, with an additional $2.4 million in grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The funds which were handed over to the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council by Ed Jennings, Jr., HUD’s Administrator for the Southeast, will go toward developing Transit around East Central Florida’s SunRail stations.

The $2.4 million federal grant will be used for undertaking detailed station area planning for six of the twelve station stops under phase 1 of SunRail; conducting affordable housing assessments for all twelve station stops and sharing best practices, aimed at guiding future transit planning in east Central Florida.

In making the announcement, Jennings said that the regional approach being adopted toward transportation and sustainable development in Central Florida is the way to go, as people need to be able to live, work and play in the same area.

“…We don’t just want them (stations) to be transportation stops, we want them to be housing stops, little nodes of economic development around that line,”  Jennings said.  “Fifty-two cents of every dollar is spent on housing and transportation and this is unsustainable.”

Jennings said the $2.4 million was expected to create about 40-50 direct jobs, such as, planners, engineers, architects–in the first instance, but there would be transit oriented jobs as well, as a result of private sector development around the station stops or economic nodes.  The grant funds to the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council will be matched 100 percent with local monies, he said.

Kissimmee City Commissioner Cheryl Grieb, chair of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, in accepting the grant said, it was a great day for the East Central Florida area.

“The funding under HUD Sustainable Regional Planning grant will enable communities to plan for sustainable, inclusive growth around Central Florida SunRail stations,” Grieb said.  She added that the grant funds will help to build on the momentum that has been created with the 50-year-shared regional vision and the 2060 plan adopted in 2011, which is intended to guide local decision making in such a manner that would lead toward implementation of a regional growth vision.

Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-FL), who attended the grant ceremony at Metroplan downtown Orlando, said, just as she is excited about SunRail, she is also very pleased about the additional monies going toward Transit around SunRail stations and the collaborative effort that made it possible.

“For years, all the local communities worked together with SunRail,” Brown said.  “We understand the importance of getting people out of those cars and into other modes of transportation.  And so, our stakeholders and partners are very, very excited about this additional funding.”

Today’s grant to the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council is part of a $5 million award, with the City of Opa-Locka receiving $0.6 million to undertake and implement a new citywide comprehensive plan and $1.9 million to the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners for the Glades Region Master Plan.